Anhalter Hochbunker Berlin

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State of the bunker in 1987

The Anhalter Hochbunker is a former air raid shelter of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg on the site of the former Anhalter Bahnhof (today with access to Schöneberger Straße 23a).

As part of the immediate Führer program of October 10, 1940, bunkers for passers-by, travelers and residents were built at selected centers with high traffic. By decree of the Reich Aviation Ministry of November 2, 1940, the Reichsbahn was obliged to create shelters for travelers at all stations. As a result, the bunker at Anhalter Bahnhof was also planned. It was designed for an occupancy of 3000 people and served as a protective bunker in the event of air raids for passengers and staff at the Anhalter Bahnhof and, via an underground access, also for employees of the former SW 11 post office on Möckernstrasse .

Construction and construction

Floor plan of the 1st basement

Construction of the Anhalter bunker began at the end of 1941, the two basement floors with the ground-level cover slab were installed in spring 1942, the reinforcement for the upper floors was in place on July 21, 1942 and the bunker building was completed on October 9, 1942. "On the top floor were the rooms for the Reichsbahn president, press rooms and rooms for the executive staff." There were also rooms with workstations for typists, telephone booths and numerous "machine rooms".

The bunker system

The bunker has three floors above ground and two underground floors with a total area of ​​around 6500 square meters.

In addition to the above-ground entrances, the south exit of the Anhalter S-Bahn station was set up as access to the bunker. There was also an underground connection from the north-south tunnel and the hall of the Anhalter Bahnhof. "In the lowest bunker level, which is empty today, six lock passages of the former main entrance to the north-south S-Bahn tunnel still testify to the crowds [approx. 5000 people] once found shelter from bombs here. ”In the lower area there is also said to have been“ a kind of command center ”:“ Here men in uniform sat and telephoned or operated a telex. ”

Use of the bunker in the bombing war

Rest of the station (portal) since the ruins were blown up in 1959

“From 1939 to 1943, life at the Anhalter Bahnhof was largely spared from the effects of the war. [...] In the late fall of 1943 made the first bombers of the Allies one over Berlin. The systematic destruction of the city began. ”At this point, the bunker was completed and it could accommodate those seeking protection. "Anhalter Bahnhof experienced the climax of its destruction during the last great Allied air raid on February 3, 1945."

The military situation in the final battle for Berlin

After Berlin was enclosed by the Soviet Army on April 25, 1945 , the Anhalter Bahnhof and its extensive facilities formed a key defense position in the battle for Berlin , especially since it was still secured in the southern area by the Landwehr Canal from the Soviet troops advancing from Tempelhofer Feld . On the evening of April 26, 1945, before moving into the bunker after the destruction of her house, the eyewitness Waltraut Süßmilch witnessed the Großbeeren Bridge and the Halleschen-Tor Bridge being blown up by a Wehrmacht commando . Shortly afterwards, the first Russian soldiers arrived with tanks and had to stop on the banks of the canal. “On the night of April 26th to 27th, Chuikov's pressure on Kreuzberg forced the German defense to cross the Landwehr Canal, where they had to move into new positions. [...] The next day was a day of rest for the troops and was used for the final preparations [to cross the Landwehr Canal], the German positions were filled with artillery and mortar fire . "

Crossing over the Landwehr Canal

This meant that the entire area of ​​the Anhalter Bahnhof and the bunker was in the area of ​​direct fire: “Tschuikov's preparations for the attack via the Landwehr Canal envisaged a massive use of heavy artillery and rocket launchers for accompanying support. These were brought into position after fogging in the course of the day (April 28). There was no shortage of ammunition and the order was issued not to use it sparingly. ”The“ S-Bahn tunnel from the Yorckstrasse marshalling yard and the U- Bahn tunnel from Belle-Alliance-Strasse [today: Mehringdamm] [… were] barricaded and were manned at regular intervals, so that they could not be used for the advance. ”In the night of April 28th to April 29th, the crossing should take place, the focus of which was in the area of ​​the Potsdamer Brücke , which had not been destroyed. April 29th passed with fighting over the translation attempts.

Battle for the Anhalter Bahnhof

Portal page, 1945

In front of the Anhalter Bahnhof, the attackers succeeded in conquering the high-lying Möckernbrücke underground station via rubble and reaching the north bank. At Hallescher Tor "the pioneers succeeded in bringing pontoons into the water so that the tanks could advance to Belle-Alliance-Platz." In the evening of the day the spikes stood northeast of the station in front of the Reich Aviation Ministry (today: Federal Ministry of Finance / Detlev -Rohwedder-Haus ) on Wilhelmstrasse and on the morning of April 30th, according to German information, the “Anhalter Bahnhof was just occupied”. This information is controversial - other reports, including the diary of the author Süßmilch (see chapter: Course of the last days ...) - allow the assumption that an occupation took place on the evening of April 30th at the earliest. The Anhalter bunker, which had been walled up on the outside, remained undisturbed on this and the following day, at least until midday. This was also possible because combat troops kept moving further into the center and only subsequent units "cleaned" the area previously crossed.

The bunker in the last days of the war

After the bunker had been mainly used in air raids until 1944, it finally became the last refuge for “thousands of people, refugees, bombed out and wounded. Many people regularly spent the night there, at first they had to show a bunker card with a number on it, later nobody asked for it. "

Escape to Anhalter Bahnhof

During the advance of the Soviet Army after the city was enclosed on April 25, 1945, the population of the district in the south of the center fled from the "artillery cylinder" that preceded the troops, mostly into the facilities of the Anhalter Bahnhof and into the bunker, which finally contained 10,000 people was crowded. In the vicinity were still the people who sought refuge in the walls and vaults of the monumental building of the Anhalter Bahnhof and in the extensive facilities of the underground S-Bahn station.

The conditions in the bunker

The establishment of the bunker also included an air raid medical center, the head of which had been the doctor Hans Mellin since late 1943. After the influx of people seeking refuge after the artillery bombardment of the Red Army on the inner city area began on April 21, 1945, a second hospital department was set up, "which a doctor who had also been thrown into the bunker by the events, took over with his wife . The worst part was that we weren't prepared for major surgery. The purpose of the rescue center was only first aid and now we should take care of the seriously injured. ”Until the end of April, the Shell House was involved in the care of the seriously wounded: they were brought to the hospital there, which was better equipped for operations - so long until the transport vehicles broke down.

The fugitives were huddled together everywhere in the bunker, in the rooms, in the corridors and on the stairs. The hygienic conditions quickly became catastrophic, washrooms and toilets could no longer be used, sometimes people had locked themselves in there or the dead were deposited here. The light was dim, there was no longer any food supply, people lived on meager supplies, and in the increasing bombardment, almost only young people were able to fetch water outside or to 'organize' necessary things. Finally, the above-ground entrances were bricked up by soldiers to prevent the inmates from running into the fire in a panic. There was only a connection to the outside through the access to the S-Bahn station area, which was also overcrowded with people seeking protection.

post war period

In the Berlin State Archives there are reports in the documents of the Reichsbahndirektion Berlin about the intended demolition of various bunker systems around the Anhalter Bahnhof and thus also the bunker. However, after investigations by an architect, this was abandoned.

In the summer of 1950, a refugee camp was set up in the Anhalter bunker.

The bullets were later used to house the Senate Reserve .

The bunker today

The Anhalter Hochbunker, 2014

Today the Berlin Story Museum and the documentation guide bunker are located in the bunker . The entrances to the north-south tunnel are bricked up. In summer 2014 the owner of the bunker changed: Enno Lenze opened up the other floors and expanded the exhibition on the history of the bunker.

literature

Web links

Commons : Anhalter Hochbunker Berlin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ "In a memo on the meeting in Luftgaukommando III on August 15, 1941, it says: 'The bomb-proof bunker at Anhalter Bhf. Is set to be particularly urgent, as attacks on the center of the Reich capital are to be expected in the future.'" ( H. Neckelmann: Anhalter Bunker Berlin, p. 29.)
  2. ↑ In a letter dated November 11, 1946, the Reichsbahndirektion advised the Interallied Commandantura not to blow up the plan, the bunker, the special bunker and the so-called BASA bunker . On April 29, 1947, it was advised against blowing up the “Führerbunker am Anhalter Bahnhof” with reference to the letter of November 11, 1946. This request was sent to the Reich Railway Directorate on April 19, 1947. There was a letter dated May 10, 1947 regarding a 'precautionary expansion' of the BASA bunker and bunker. The rejection to the command office was confirmed again on May 30, 1947. In: Landesarchiv Berlin: C Rep. 309, file 3819.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Construction and Air Protection , p. 292.
  2. ↑ North-South Railway. From the ghost tunnel to the city train. Developed with the participation of the Berliner Unterwelten Association and the Kreuzberg Museum. Signal special edition. Ed .: Berliner S-Bahn-Museum GbR. Publisher: Society for Transport Policy and Railways (GVE), Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-89218-059-8 , p. 43, site plan p. 42: Archive of the Berlin Underworlds.
  3. ↑ Two photographs by Max Krajewski dated December 22, 1941 with an overview of the construction site, Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin (DTMB) Photo Archive, p. 21.
  4. ^ Photo series by M. Krajewski from April 22, 1942 and May 18, 1942, DTMB photo archive, p. 22.
  5. ↑ Photos with the dates of M. Krajewski, DTMB Photo Archive, p. 23. Some of the photos are also in the volume accompanying the exhibition from March 2 to June 27, 2010: Katharina Steiner: Max Krajewski - Architectural Photographer Between Crafts and Art. With contributions by Michael Neumann and Jörg Schmalfuß. Ed .: Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, Tübingen 2010, pp. 54, 55 and 62, ISBN 978-3-8030-0722-3 .
  6. ↑ Harald Neckelmann: Anhalter Bunker Berlin. Berlin Story Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-95723-031-7 , p. 30 and floor plan of the top, fifth floor in the appendix, p. 104 f. There is currently no information about an occupancy by the Reichsbahnführung during the war.
  7. ^ Michael Braun: North-South S-Bahn Berlin. GVE 2008, p. 168. The number of people seeking protection refers to those who temporarily fled to the bunker before the Allied air raids.
  8. ↑ Waltraut Süßmilch: In the bunker. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-548-25870-0 , p. 126. Confirmed by a note in the Landesarchiv Berlin with regard to the bunker, 3 Rep. 309, 2654, p. 81: “Bunker, used by the Reichsbahnfernmeldedienst during the war . "
  9. ↑ Quotations in the section from: Peter G. Kliem, Klaus Noack: Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof. Ullstein, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-550-07964-8 , pp. 44 and 54. Note: Three more major attacks by the USAAF followed . The last one was on April 10, 1945.
  10. ↑ W. Süßmilch, p. 113.
  11. ↑ Tony le Tissier: The fight for Berlin 1945. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-550-07801-3 , p. 151 and 156. The presentation follows Tschuikow's report.
  12. ^ T. le Tessier, p. 167.
  13. ↑ T. le Tessier, p. 180 f.
  14. ↑ T. le Tissier, p. 184. Report from Colonel General Krebs in the morning situation in the bunker.
  15. ↑ W. Süßmilch, p. 122 f.
  16. ↑ The number of 10,000 people is usually mentioned, the doctor H. Mellin names 8,000, a newspaper report names 13,000 people seeking protection in the bunker: Neues Deutschland , May 9, 1946. In: Kliem / Noack; Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-550-07964-8 , p. 66.
  17. ↑ Hans Mellin: In the bunker. In: Peter Kruse (Ed.): Bombs, Trümmer, Lucky Strikes. The zero hour in previously unknown manuscripts. wjs verlag, Wolf Jobst Siedler, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-937989-00-5 , p. 22 ff.
  18. ↑ Proof: Two photos, original title: "The American city commandant General Tailor visits the refugee camp in the former air raid shelter at Anhalter Bahnhof.", Date: July 20, 1950, Deutsches Historisches Museum , photo category: "Anhalter Bahnhof Berlin", inventory no. Schirn. K 114977 and K 114978.
  19. ↑ Website about the bunker today: berlinstory-bunker.de .

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 10 ″  N , 13 ° 22 ′ 49 ″  E