Modern/Post-War Photos

Wolf's Lair, Rastenburg, today ...

Uncertain Polish source.

No, not a Mayan temple, lost in the jungles of Central America, but the remains (rather solid) of the Fuhrer's Bunker at the Wolf's Lair, Rastenburg, East Prussia. The Wolf's Lair was planned as a forward headquarters for Hitler and his staff in contemplation of the planned German invasion of the Soviet Union. Originally, it was a heavily armoured and defended complex with impressive and carefully-considered camouflage designed to convince overflying aircraft that it was just another patch of the surrounding dense forest. Over the following two and a half years or so, Hitler spent most of his time here. His increasing paranoia resulted in ongoing strengthening of the position, with the original installations expanded and strengthened to produce a site of some 600-800 acres, not including the (extensive) minefields (it took the Poles over ten years to clear the mines). When Hitler eventually abandoned the complex (including many junior members of his staff) late in 1944, he ordered that it be demolished with explosives. The Wehrmacht and security services got down to this in January, 1945 but, in spite of expending an extraordinary amount of high explosive, fell well short of "demolishing" the complex. Much of the installations survives - albeit significantly damaged by the attempts to demolish it, and neglect during the period of Communist government in Poland. Latterly, it appears that the Wolf's Lair is being developed by Poland as a tourism attraction. On 20 July, 1944, the "Valkyrie" resistance plotters attempted to assassinate Hitler at a situation conference planned to take place, probably in the bunker pictured but, alternatively, in a similarly massive bunker occupied by Keitel, Jodl and the OKW staff. Either way, the explosion of the one effective bomb in Stauffenberg's briefcase would in all probability have turned the occupants of a meeting room within these concrete masses to soup. Unfortunately for the plotters, the meeting was moved to a wooden building because of the (ever) ongoing works on the Fuhrer's bunker. Even then, if both the "live" and the apparently "dud" bombs carried by Stauffenberg and his adjutant had been left together in the briefcase, the effective result might not have been very different in the flimsy building used for the meeting. But ... the Devil looked after his own. Best regards, JR.