Introduction
The Wolf's Lair (also known as Wolfsschanze).. an infamous war headquarters in Gierłoż, Poland (the Eastern Front for my history friends) belonging to the totalitarian dictator Adolf Hitler, who of which represented Nazi Germany's leader during the period of the Second World War. Who of which was also almost assassinated (upon many other attempts elsewhere) in July 1944.
DW.COM
It's said to be the place where he lived between June 1940 -November 1944. It's an absolute massive complex consisted of more than 200 objects. As AB Poland Travel states, "barracks, shelters and bunkers, as well as two airports and a railway station. Power and water supply systems, asphaltic and concrete roads and lighting system made the complex a self-sufficient town in the middle of the forest, where Hitler is claimed to have spent more than 800 days.".
"The complex even had a hair salon, cinema, sauna and a teahouse. Our guide will tell you about everyday life in the Lair and about many crucial decisions which were made here e.g. about creation of concentration camps.", also says AB Poland Travel. I mean it's insane. It's basically a travel getaway, and this man no doubt had the funding to build it. In The New York Times article, "Hitler, It Seems, Loved Money and Died Rich", it's explained that the filthy rich man died rich. He loved money, and that's where we can see what his money bought him. Pure luxurious properties.
Shutterstock/ Robert Szymanski
You may perhaps include that he wasn't smart with his money, but much rather his fame and amount of control brought him the wealth he had.. but Steven Erlanger, as said in this article, says, "He paid much attention to his income from his own writing and from the copyright fees for his photographs, said Ingo Helm". Erlanger adds, "Hitler himself described at great length his poverty and hardship as a struggling artist in Vienna before World War I, although he had a small inheritance. His poverty embarrassed him deeply. In ''Mein Kampf,'' from which he would make millions". I believe that regardless of the amount of properties and money he had, you can see that in most aspects he truly valued this money, I suppose in a way to ensure he got his money worth out of his built/purchased properties.
Now of course, looking at the Wolf's Lair, you can see just this. I mean how could you not! While sadly the German troops did blow up the whole complex wasting away much of what had laid there, the structure of the headquarters still exists. And as a history major, I will say this is more important than anything else. To see this building standing still to this day we can see what great power and money brought people like Hitler. I really do find it so fascinating to see, and I believe it would be even better to see in person one day. It's said the height of the building itself is unexplainable which leads me to only wonder what it was like in operation.
History of Location
Now the location itself was obviously much thought of, infact, was chosen to get the advantage of his rivalries.. the Soviet Union. As AB Poland Travel states, "When planning an attack on the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler wanted a suitable place from which he could successfully implement the so-called Barbarossa plan (the code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union)." Which leads to support my point of Hitler truly getting the most out of his investments on properties.
Shuttershock
The decision to build the Wolf's Lair was made in the summer of 1940, when Colonel Rudolf Schmundt - the head of Hitler's adjutant, dr. Fritz Todt - Minister of Armaments and Ammunition and Major Gerhard Engel - Hitler's adjutant, carried out a reconnaissance of Gierloz forest. With surrounding lakes and swamps, the site located 8 kilometres east of the town of Ketrzyn was identified as ideal location for Hitler's war headquarters. (AB Poland Travel)
The real strategic importance laid upon the close access to the Soviet border, as well as it also, of course, being in forested areas (in that self-led to so many great opportunities for a building in this area), but also being in an area where perhaps it led as an obstacle for land forces to reach. It supposedly held over 3000 German labourers to build.
Wolf's Lair Infrastructure
As noted, the headquarters really did hold so much, it even held a railway station and 2 landing pads. The headquarters held 7 bombproof bunkers for top leaders with walls and ceilings 8m thick!
BBC
As AB Poland Travel states, "There were three entrances to the Quarters, guarded by guardhouses: from the east, west and south. The entire area is divided into three security zones. The area was perfectly masked. Most of the buildings built here had flat roofs with hollows from 10 to 30 cm. They were filled with earth, in which bushes were planted, grass was sown and artificial trees were set up. At the edges of the roofs of many buildings there were metal arches in the shape of an inverted "U" letter. Masking nets were stretched between them and the trees growing nearby. From the bird's eye view, the whole thing looked like a thick forest. The masking effectiveness was checked by means of aerial photographs. The walls of the buildings were covered with a mixture of seagrass and green dye, which, when the mortar was added, turned into a green, naturally irregular and porous plaster. Also, very sophisticated psychological masking was applied. It involved, among others, the fact that the people working on the construction of the Wolf's Lair had civilian passports."
Military History Tours
This security went even further after an incident in June 21, 1941 when a Russian airline flew over the headquarters suggesting to Russians that the facility was in fact built in the forest, but not confirmed until 1945 by Allies. This led to it being guarded further with anti-aircraft defense posts, minefields, barbed wire entanglements, and fixed and mobile posts placed in heavy bunkers. I mean insane right? But it did hold the most important man of the Second World War.
as Lonely Planet says, "The complex was eventually blown up on 24 January 1945 and the Germans retreated. Three days later the Soviets arrived, but the extensive minefield was still efficiently defending the empty ruins. It took 10 years to clear the 55,000 mines within the complex.". I mean just riddled with mines to protect it even further, but to ensure that if anyone tried to enter the complex.. it would destroy the ruins. I find it wild.
Daily Mail
"Of Hitler’s bunker (13) only one wall survived, but Göring’s ‘home’ (16) is in relatively good shape. A memorial plate (placed in 1992) marks the location of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg’s 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler and a small exhibition room houses a scale model of the original camp layout.", again says Lonely Planet.
Today, the site has succumbed to Mother Nature; bunkers are slowly disappearing behind a thick wall of natural camouflage, and mosquitos are a pest. (Lonely Planet)
But if I may add to this.. it is divided to "safety zones" for reasons we can only expect to know after reading this blog.
Culture Trip
Wikimedia
Life in Wolf's Lair
With modern technical equipment like water supply, sewage systems, sewage treatment plants, command communications systems, asphalt and concrete roads lit by laterns, and so much more really made the headquarters quite the deal to the Nazi's. I imagine it held many different visitors, 2000+ in fact, of different members on the daily. It was a huge hangout spot for them and a massive flex on their behalf to others.
Hitler stayed in Wolf's Lair on the following dates:
June 24, 1941 - July 16, 1942,
November 1, 1942 - November 7, 1942,
November 23, 1942 - February 17, 1943,
March 13, 1943 - March 19, 1943,
May 9, 1943 - May 21, 1943,
July 1, 1943 - July 18, 1943, J
uly 20, 1943 - February 27, 1944,
July 14, 1944 - November 20, 1944.
Below: Wolf's Lair with Hitler, Mussolini
BBC
But faced with the threat of an attack from the Soviets, Hitler and others quickly fled on November 20th, 1944. "Two days later, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel gave the order to destroy the Wolf's Lair, codenamed "Blowing up the Island". On the night of January 24-25th 1945 the blowing up of shelters and barracks began. Two days later, on January 27, Red Army troops entered the Headquarters without firing a shot.", says AB Poland Travel. Below is destroyed Wolf's Lair.
Wilczy Szaniec
Anyways, that concludes this blog post. I hope you all enjoyed, please feel free to subscribe to my content.. this allows you to receive direct link and notification when I post.
Citations
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