Führerbunker

The Führerbunker was a part of a bunker complex constructed for Adolf Hitler between 1936 and 1944 in the garden of the former Reich Chancellery and consisted of two shelters, the Vorbunker (Upper Bunker) and the Führerbunker. The Vorbunker and the Führerbunker were located about 1,5 and 8,5 meters under the ground respectively, reinforced immensely with a concrete ceiling and also self-contained. Approximately 30 rooms were protected by four meters of concrete with exits leading both into the Reich Chancellery and up to the garden. Hitler moved into the bunker in January 1945, and it would serve as his headquarters during the Battle of Berlin. From here he attempted command the forces inside the city and the remains of his crumbling Wehrmacht. Among high-ranking military officers and SS guards, the Vorbunker was inhabited by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his family.

On 29 April 1945, Hitler married his long-term mistress Eva Braun on the bunker premises and dictated his last will and political testament. On the next day, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in Hitler’s personal study. Their bodies were cremated in the garden of the Reich Chancellery near the bunker exit. On 1 May, Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda also committed suicide in the bunker. After the war, the bunker complex was destroyed by the Soviet troops and later during the construction works in East Germany. After a controversial debate, a memorial plate showing the location was installed before the FIFA World Cup in 2006.