Kolkwitz bunker

Entrance to the Kolkwitz bunker

The Kolkwitz bunker near Cottbus was built roughly at the same time as the Cölpin bunker near Neubrandenburg in the mid- 1960s . It can be assumed that essential findings from the construction of the first Kagel bunker built in the GDR were incorporated into the planning. Both bunkers are identical structurally as well as in function and purpose. They acted as command posts of the air force / air defense (LSK / LV) of the GDR . The dimensions of the bunkers were 42.5 × 18 m, they consisted of three basement floors .

Location

Its location is about 12 kilometers west of Cottbus in the Kolkwitz municipality , on the edge of the "Am Technologiepark" industrial park. You can get there via the A 15 to the Cottbus West junction or via the B 115 Vetschau – Cottbus.

Use until 1990 / GDR times

The Kolkwitz bunker was put into operation in 1967 as a command post (GS-31) of the 1st air defense division of the LSK / LV of the GDR. Its main task was to ensure aerial reconnaissance and surveillance of the southern airspace of the GDR and to lead fighter pilots , missiles and radio-technical troops . As part of the air reconnaissance and surveillance, the airspace extended south of the Salzwedel – Schwedt line, west to the Meppen – Münster area, east and south to Poland and the ČSSR.

The following were militarily led:

• the Jagdfliegergeschwader 1 (JG-1) in Cottbus and from November 1982 in Holzdorf , JG-3 in Preschen , JG-7 in Drewitz and JG-8 in Marxwalde (today Neuhardenberg),
• the anti-aircraft missile regiment 31 in Straßgräbchen ,
• the anti-aircraft missile brigades 41 in Ladeburg and 51 in Sprötau ,
• the radio technical battalions 31 in Döbern , 41 in Holzdorf, 51 in Sprötau and 61 in Müncheberg .

In its function as a command post, the bunker was telecommunications-technically secured by the message battalion 31 of the LSK / LV of the GDR in Cottbus, from which the message center was also served. In its capacity as the communications center of the command post, it was integrated into the communications system of the National People's Army (NVA), ensuring communication not only with the Ministry of National Defense via the main communications center , but also with the LSK / LV command in Eggersdorf, the central command post in Fürstenwalde as well as to all branches of the NVA, the border troops of the GDR , the civilian facilities of the Interflug of the GDR and the command posts of the Air Forces / Air Defense of the Group of Soviet Armed Forces in Germany (GSSD).

All kinds of communication links were organized. These included the wired - both of the special network 1 and the independently organized - radio, directional radio and tropospheric connections . They were all operated predominantly in a covered ( encrypted) regime and ensured the fast and reliable transmission of messages and commands from the command, the transmission of the air situation and data streams to the central command post, the superiors and subordinates as well as cooperating staff. The command post was an integral part of the air force / air defense system on duty .

Use after 1990

With the fall of the Wall, the bunker lost its military importance. It was decommissioned in the first few years after the political change and was left to its own devices until the Kolkwitz bunker friends turned the bunker into a military history museum. An association "Kolkwitzer Bunkerfreunde GS-31 eV" founded in 2004 now operates the bunker and offers guided tours. The association is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Bunker Alliance.

opening hours

Every 3rd Saturday of the month from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. without registration. Special tours are possible by telephone arrangement.

Tours take place at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

photos

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  Signpost at the entrance

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  Entrance area in the bunker

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  Message Center (NZ), portion control center

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  NZ, part of the telegraph exchange

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  in the air situation center

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  Sales facility

literature

• Hans Werner Deim, Hans-Georg Kampe, Joachim Kampe, Wolfgang Schubert: The military security of the GDR in the Cold War. Contents, structures, bunkered management positions, facilities. Meißler, Hönow 2008, ISBN 978-3-932566-80-6 .
• Joachim Kampe - video documentation / Cold War bunkers .
• Contributions to the history of the air force / Air defense of the NVA of the GDR - Collection of contributions 2009 / Experienced and created .

Web links

• Official website of the Kolkwitz bunker
• The 51st Air Missile Brigade Sprötau
• The 41st Air Missile Brigade in Ladeburg
• The NB-31 radio company in Kolkwitz
• The new SBW in Kolkwitz

Coordinates: 51 ° 43 ′ 51.9 ″  N , 14 ° 13 ′ 12.8 ″  E