Air raid shelter
An air raid shelter or air raid shelter was a structural system for protection against air raids in the basement of a building during the Second World War , which was not primarily used for air protection . To be distinguished from this is the air raid shelter , which serves the same purpose, but structurally represents an independent building.
history
Note "LSR" ( L runs s chutz r aum) at a house in Freundschaftsweg in Salbke
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External steel door of the gas lock in the air raid shelter at Marschnerstrasse 5, Frankfurt am Main
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The development of aircraft technology in the 1930s made it seem likely that in the event of war bombers would also be able to hit locations far behind the front line . After the outbreak of the Second World War, the prognosis turned out to be correct.
One way to protect civilians was to create shelters in the basements of residential buildings . Compared to public air raid shelters, this had the advantage of easier access for those seeking protection and - from the point of view of the administration - the possibility of passing all or part of the costs on to private house owners. The disadvantage of air raid shelters was that they usually could not be expanded in the same way as large public bunkers . Air raid shelters were also installed in public buildings such as schools or administration buildings.
In Switzerland , too, the construction of air raid shelters was promoted in the run-up to the Second World War. In 1934 the federal government passed a resolution to build up air protection. The aim was to be able to offer every Swiss citizen a place in an air raid shelter. By the end of the Second World War, almost 34,000 systems had been built in Switzerland.
Construction equipment
In order to be able to protect oneself against poison gas , the use of which was feared after the experiences in the First World War , air filter systems and gas locks with two doors were installed in some air raid shelters , of which only one was allowed to be opened in the event of a gas alarm.
When houses were built next to each other, the air raid shelters were as close as possible to the edge of the building and had a breakthrough to the neighboring building, which was normally closed with thin masonry that could easily be broken through in an emergency. This opened an escape route through the basement rooms of the adjoining building to the outside (or through the next breakthrough into the next but one building) if the entrance was blocked in the own building.
Labelling
In Germany during the Second World War, the abbreviations LSK (air raid shelter) or LSR (air raid shelter) were affixed to the plinths of houses in corresponding places in white fluorescent paint (due to blackout or power failure) , but were often also written out. From March 15, 1944, this was linked to arrows, which should also be painted in fluorescent paint if possible. If necessary, the additional note “iH” (in the house / in the courtyard) was attached. The arrow not only pointed to the entrance to the air raid shelter, but also served the rescue team to find access if a building collapsed. Emergency exits were marked with the letters NA in addition to arrows . Notes on nearby hydrants were marked with an "H" , ventilation shafts and emergency exits were covered with steel grids. If they are still there, they are labeled Mannesmann- Luftschutz . The wall inscriptions have mostly disappeared due to repainting of the building or weathering, only in rare cases can they still be recognized today.
literature
- Air Force Regulations : L.Dv. 793 - Structural air defense planning and implementation of structural measures in public air raid shelters - 1939.
- Robert Schwienbacher: LSR - Air raid relics of the Second World War in the Cologne city area, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-9818619-3-8
Web links
- Public civil defense systems - Info at geschichtsspuren.de
- Photographs of awards from air raid shelters in Vienna
Individual evidence
- ^ Decree of the Reich Aviation Ministry of March 15, 1944 (RABl. I, 127), [1]
- ↑ http://www.zonebattler.net/2006/06/24/malerisches-menetekel/
- ↑ http://www.renate-trautwein.de/veroeffnahmungen/geheimnisvollezeichen.shtml