Vilich-Müldorf high bunker
The bunker Vilich-Müldorf was an air raid shelter from the Second World War in Vilich-Müldorf , a district of the Bonn district of Beuel .
history
The cities of the German Empire were divided into cities I, II and III depending on the degree of their air pollution. Divided order. Based on this classification, the air protection measures to be taken for the respective location were graded. Bonn was assigned to one of 104 air raid shelters of the first order in special annex 10 of the air force mobilization plan. As part of the war preparations, Beuel and thus Vilich-Müldorf were assigned to the highest air protection category, also due to its strong industrial concentration. As the fifth air raid protection area in Bonn, the municipality of Beuel was subordinate to the mayor of Bonn in civil air protection issues.
The air defense measures were practiced in partial air defense exercises in the years 1936 until the outbreak of war. During these exercises, attention was also paid to a flawless extinguishing water supply, which was not sufficient in Vilich-Müldorf due to the too small feeder lines. Despite the intensive exercises in passive air defense, it was recognized a year after the start of the war that this was not enough to protect the cities, even in connection with active air defense. Therefore, in the autumn of 1940, the so -called emergency guide program designed for Berlin was transferred to selected cities. These included Bonn and the municipality of Beuel, which is affiliated with air protection issues. The affected building department was informed about the main features of the program at a meeting in Berlin on November 14th with the building department of the affected cities.
bunker
The Vilich-Müldorfer high bunker was one of a total of 14 bunkers that were planned and built in Bonn and the municipality of Beuel, which is affiliated with air protection issues . The high number of these structures, compared to other German cities, resulted from their assignment to the highest air protection class.
Construction of the bunker began on December 7, 1940, just under a month after the program was announced. It was completed on May 1, 1941. There are contradicting information about the capacity of the bunker. A publication from 1989 assumes 185 reclining and 80 seats, which were converted into 250 seats in 1944 with the elimination of the reclining spaces. Another publication from 1994 puts the capacity at 500 people. According to a list submitted by the Mayor of Beuel to the District Administrator on August 14, 1941, the construction costs amounted to 300,000 Reichsmarks .
The bunker was one of the first bunkers to be completed in Bonn , along with the bunker on Immenburgstrasse in Bonn and the bunker in Pützchen . This was intended because the three relatively small protective structures could be erected quickly and the experience gained during construction could be used in the construction of the larger protective structures.
For the construction of the bunker, local construction companies formed the ARGE Heiland & Quadt - Bohl & Weber. The prisoners of war used to build the bunker were u. a. housed in Geislar . Approx. a third of these were French prisoners of war from Stalag VI G, which had been set up in Duisdorf . Up to 53,000 prisoners were subordinate to this Stalag, of which up to 7,000 prisoners lived in the camp itself. The others were deployed in numerous work detachments throughout the Rhineland.
The bunker was built because of its proximity to Hangelar airfield , where various day, night, battle and night battle groups were stationed during the war. The best known of them was the I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 300 "Wilde Sau" . Another reason for the construction was the proximity to the tram stop of the long-distance line Bonn – Siegburg . At this stop, the railroad cars were parked in the event of air raids and the passengers found protection in the bunker. The order and care of those seeking protection was taken care of by detached police forces.
An extinguishing water pond was created in front of the bunker , as the extinguishing water supply in Vilich-Müldorf, as already recognized during the air raid exercises before the war, was insufficient due to the too small feeder lines. The costs for this and the additional ponds in Niederholtorf and Geislar were around 30,000 Reichsmarks.
Air war
The first bomb fell on Beuel on May 16, 1940. On the night of November 12 to 13, 1940, the first bomb followed in Vilich-Müldorf, which caused considerable damage. On September 26, 1944, a high-explosive bomb again caused considerable damage, ten houses were damaged moderately and 40 were slightly damaged. After the great air raid on Bonn on October 18, 1944 , in which Beuel was also badly hit, the bombing raids on Bonn and Beuel increased. Between January 1, 1945 and the end of February alone, 297 air raid alarms were registered. In addition, the Hangelar airport was also increasingly attacked, which also affected the Beuel city area. Vilich-Müldorf was liberated on March 21, 1945 without fighting.
Usage today
After the Second World War, the extinguishing water basin was expanded into an outdoor pool . The sanitary facilities for the outdoor swimming pool and an apartment for the lifeguard were installed in the bunker.
After the pool was closed in 1982, the outdoor pool was dismantled. The bunker and the corresponding grounds were long-term lease on the Bürgerverein Vilich-Müldorf e. V. handed over. The bunker and the multi-purpose hall , which was added in 1988, are now used by the local clubs.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Construction and air defense. (PDF) Retrieved January 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Helmut Vogt (Ed.): Bonn in the bomb war . Contemporary eyewitness records and memoirs. 1989.
- ^ Helmut Vogt: The 5th air raid shelter of Bonn: The industrial community Beuel in the bombing war . City of Bonn, Bonn 1994, ISBN 3-922832-12-1 .
- ↑ Carl Jakob Bachem: Beueler Chronik . Ed .: City of Bonn. Bonn 1989, ISBN 3-922832-06-7 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 45 ′ 20 ″ N , 7 ° 8 ′ 48 ″ E