Multipurpose facility at Kudamm-Karree
The multi-purpose facility Kudamm-Karree is a bunker facility located in the second basement of the underground car park of the Ku'damm-Karree building complex on Kurfürstendamm in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg , which was built from 1973 to 1974 . By order of the Charlottenburg District Office, the parking deck could be converted into a civilian shelter for 3592 people. The facility was built during the Cold War and, according to official information, can withstand a nuclear weapon explosion 1.5 kilometers away. Part of the facility could be viewed as part of the “ The Story of Berlin ” museum, which opened on June 24, 1999 . The bunker rooms could also be rented for private events. The Ku'damm-Karree has been fundamentally renovated since 2018 and will in future be called FÜRST . The exhibition, which has been closed since the beginning of 2019, is scheduled to reopen in spring 2020.
history
After the end of the Second World War , the former bunkers in West Berlin were to be blown up and removed. By the mid-1960s, around half of the approximately 360 structures had been removed. Against the backdrop of the Cold War , which had achieved a new quality with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 , the Western Allies stopped the demolition of old shelters. The order BK / O (65) 11 of October 1, 1965 even contained the order of measures “with which the life and health of the civilian population, their homes, workplaces and the facilities and goods important for the satisfaction of their needs are protected from the effects of armed attacks “Of the 178 air raid protection systems that were still in existence in 1966 in the western part of the city , around 40 systems were initially to be modernized. Ultimately, these measures were carried out on eleven bunkers. Later, five so-called multi-purpose systems were built in underground garages and underground stations.
In this context, the multi-purpose facility Kudamm-Karree was built from 1973 to 1974 under the Ku'damm-Karree building complex , which included a shopping center , the comedy and theater on Kurfürstendamm as well as office space. In 1989, 24,641 people were admitted to a total of 16 public shelters in West Berlin. At the time, this corresponded to around 2.1 million West Berliners, a population share of around 1.15 percent.
Construction and organization
The four available entrances are located in the corners of the 3490 m³ basement. According to several sources, the wall and ceiling thickness is 30 to 60 cm. Behind the 40 cm thick entrance doors there are air locks for 20 people each, which are separated from the rest of the bunker by a normal steel door. The counting of the persons admitted would be left to the staff, as would the command to close the hydraulically operated entrance doors, also known as “dosing devices”. To avoid injuries, the doors close slowly and their edges are rounded. The airlock can be monitored from a room secured by armored glass.
For decontamination , everyone here would have to take off their clothes and take a shower. In uniform clothing, each person seeking protection would then be assigned to one of the flatbeds set up at a maximum distance of 60 cm. When fully set up, the four-story beds would cover a large part of the total area. In the event of panic breaking out, an epidemic or other incidents, the shelter can be divided into two equally sized halves by a partition. The stay should always take place lying down. Standing up and walking around would only be permitted with the permission of the staff.
In addition to washrooms, toilets, staff and sick rooms, the facility only has an emergency kitchen. Meals of seeking protection be made exclusively of cold food from the tin . Showers are only located in the hospital rooms. A fresh water tank and a deep well should guarantee the supply of drinking water . Sand filters should supply the bunker with cooled and explosive-free air. The fuel in the diesel generators is officially sufficient for 14 days. After this time, the bunker must be left because its energy supply and thus the supply of fresh air would fail.
Air filter system
Iron removal system (part of the water supply)
Toilets
Washroom
generator
Kitchen with output
Kitchen warehouse
literature
- Nuclear bunker was considered the perfect solution . In: Berliner Zeitung , December 11, 2000.
- Elmar Schütze: A parking garage for 1000 bicycles . For renovation work on the Ku'damm square. In: Berliner Zeitung , February 1, 2019. p. 14 (print edition).
Web links
- Multi-purpose facility Kudamm-Karree at geschichtsspuren.de
- Homepage of Story of Berlin
- The Story of Berlin on Berlin.de
- Homepage of the project FÜRST
Individual evidence
- ↑ The bunker and events. ( Memento of the original from May 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Story of Berlin, April 29, 2010.
- ↑ A large coworking space is being built on Ku'damm. Retrieved May 6, 2019 .
- ^ Michael Grube: Berlin: Multipurpose facility Kudamm-Karee. At: geschichtsspuren.de , May 2, 2010.
- ↑ Barbara Rosenberg: Dosing device - that sounds like fabric softener . Status: May 2, 2010.
Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 3 ″ N , 13 ° 19 ′ 28 ″ E