hitler bunker virtual tour

FEATURED EXPERIENCE NO. 05

Visit the site of adolf hitler's führerbunker, the nazi leader's subterranean sanctuary and final command centre.

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The apartment buildings surrounding the site of the Führerbunker now were built in the 1980s by the East German government, as luxury apartment houses for important members of East German society.

The Führerbunker

• Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse, 10117 Berlin
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Explore The State Musems On Museum Island

Visit The Berlin TV Tower – The Fernsehturm

Cross The Cold War Border At Checkpoint Charlie

Visit The Site Of Adolf Hitler’s Führerbunker

Visit The Reichstag Cupola At Night

Explore The Forum Fridericianum

Journey Into The Memorial To The Murdered Jews Of Europe

Step Inside The Neue Wache

Explore The Former Jewish Quarter – Spandauer Vorstadt

Visit The Remains Of The Berlin Wall

Walk Across The Bridge Of Spies

Explore The Topography Of Terror

Enter The Palace Of Tears – The Tränenpalast

Step Inside The Berlin Olympic Stadium

Explore Erich Mielke’s Office At The Stasi Museum

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Visit Karlshorst – The Site Of The German Surrender

Visit The Socialists Cemetery – Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde

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Cross The Bösebrücke At Night

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Visit The Brandenburg T4 Euthanasia Memorial

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Explore The Volkspark Friedrichshain Flak Tower

WW2 Documentary

We create elaborate VR documentaries and simulations for TIME & HISTORY , a curated directory of educational VR experiences that bring the world to your home. Our CGI animations and virtual simulations are featured in media formats like scientific magazines and TV documentaries. Contact us or visit TIME & HISTORY to learn more about our documentary projects and research services.

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“Nord XR’s digital reconstruction allows the scene of the downfall to be viewed more realistically than ever before.”

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TIME & HISTORY is a curated list of VR experiences that bring the world to your home. We unite developers,researchers and the VR community to jointly create,discuss and unleash the full potential of Virtual Reality and the Future of Education.

Dokumentation Führerbunker

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Historically authentic documentary for TV and VR: The historically authentic reconstruction of the so called Führerbunker was first seen in the award-winning TV documentary Apocalypse – The Fall of Hitler and is now available as an interactive experience for VR (PC VR) and non-VR systems (Windows PC).

Dokumentation Führerbunker is an interactive documentary about the horrors of the Third Reich and the last days of World War II in the air raid shelters of the Berlin Reich Chancellery, known as the Führerbunker. The virtual reconstruction can be freely explored with historically relevant places and events explained via narration and 3D dioramas.

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Lead advisor on Dokumenation Führerbunker  is Sven Felix Kellerhoff , a historian, publicist and author of many renowned books on contemporary German history (including The Führerbunker – Hitler’s last refuge ).  He has been dealing with the Führerbunker for around 20 years and was the first researcher to evaluate the construction files in the German Federal Archives (Staatsarchiv) and the GDR’s “Stasi protocols” on the 1973 inspection on the remnants of the bunker.

Responsible education, not mystification:  The development of this project was in part funded by the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Bremen. It is created by  NORD XR utilizing the latest iteration of UNREAL ENGINE and released exclusively on TIME & HISTORY as a launch title of our interactive documentary series.

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The Absurdity of Totalitarian Regimes

Dokumentation Führerbunker is developed as a virtual memorial to the absurdity of totalitarian regimes. The project aims to help ensure that historical mistakes and the human catastrophes of the WW2 era are not forgotten.

VIRTUAL MUSEUMS BY NORD XR: The idea behind virtual museums and exhibitions is to make interesting, but destroyed or hard-to-get-to places accessible to everyone without having to spend a lot of time, money or the need to travel. Users can simply download and explore a scene first-hand with a VR headset in the comfort of their homes.

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1943 Berlin Blitz

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Hitler's Berlin and WWII Virtual Tour

This experience transports you to a time when Berlin was the dark heart of Nazi Germany – the capital city of a dictatorship that industrially murdered millions, and waged a war that destroyed swathes of the European continent – all from the comfort of your own home using your computer.

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What's included, important information.

This experience transports you to a time when Berlin was the dark heart of Nazi Germany – the capital city of a dictatorship that industrially murdered millions, and waged a war that destroyed swathes of the European continent – all from the comfort of your own home using your computer. This is a live group virtual tour – other guests will be participating at the same time. You will enter into a video call with your professional guide at 7.30pm Berlin time and explore the city with them. The entire tour is interactive. After each section the guide will pause to take questions. You can simply ask your question, or type it into the live group chat. You will also have access to in tour content such as photos and videos. The video calling software used for the tour is called Zoom. You will need to have it downloaded on your laptop, tablet or cellphone – with a connection to speakers or headphones – in order to participate in the tour.

• Professional local English speaking tour guide
• Virtual live tour via Zoom app

Topography of Terror

The virtual tour begins at the dark heart of Nazi Berlin – the former SS and Gestapo Headquarters. Learn about those who directed the Nazi atrocities and see the former torture cells in the excavated basement.

Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus

We then head down the Wilhelmstraße, the main artery running through the former Nazi Government Quarter, and stop at the Former Reich Aviation Ministry – one of the last examples of Nazi architecture remaining in the city center.

Hitler's Bunker (Fuhrerbunker)

Next we see where history's most notorious criminal committed suicide at the end of WWII.

Holocaust Memorial

We then end the tour by journeying through the iconic concrete stelae of the memorial built to honor Jewish victims of Nazism.

Cancellation policy:

- For groups of 1-6 people: free cancellation up to 48 hours in advance.

- For groups of 7+ people: free cancellation up to up to 7 days ahead. From 6 days in advance to 48 hours in advance, a 50% fee will apply.

- Cancellations less than 48 hours ahead or no-shows result in no refund.

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Berlin Underground Tours – Secret City War Bunkers and Escape Tunnels

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Berlin underground tours are an alternative way to understand the city’s complex history, where you can view war bunkers and escape tunnels in what are now disused metro stations. 

With Berlin known for its alternative scene and unravelling of a dark past, this is a different way of seeing it. 

When researching my trip there I came across the Berlin Underworlds Association (Berliner Unterwelten) – a society for the exploration and documentation of subterranean culture. They provide expert tours of the city’s underground linked to various moments of its history, citing to “experience the history of Berlin from an unconventional perspective.” 

The Berlin Underworlds Association has been offering Berlin tunnel tours for around 15 years, so they know exactly what they are doing when it comes to the important underground structures in the city. You won’t get stuck or lost, or be breaking any laws when it comes to the exploration of abandoned areas. This has all been curated and set up exclusively. 

© Berliner Unterwelten e.V. / Holger Happel

Where Does the Berlin Underground Tour Begin?

When do the underground tours run, underground tours prices, escaping via the sewage system, escaping via the east berlin u-bahn underground stations, from underground to overground , berlin underground bunker tours, virtual tours of underground berlin, beneath berlin – understanding history , what berlin underground tours can you go on.

From war bunkers and air-raid shelters to the remains of an anti-aircraft fortress, subterranean Berlin plays host to a wealth of history. You might find it hard to choose which tour to go on, although a lot of your choice will be dependent on what tours are running on the given day.

There are currently four underground Berlin tours available:

• Tour 1: Dark Worlds
• Tour 2: From Flak Towers to Mountains of Debris
• Tour 3: Cold War Nuclear Bunkers
• Tour M: Under the Berlin Wall

I decided on Tour M, which at the time was called Breaching the Berlin Wall: Subterranean Escapes from East Berlin to West Berlin and which this article focuses on, with an overview of the main things you get to learn about and what an underground tour encompasses generally. 

Photography is not allowed, which is why I am using images granted for use by the Berliner Unterwelten. 

The majority of the tours start in or near the Gesundbrunnen station in the north of Berlin city centre and they last approximately two hours.

The main season for tours is April – October and they run from Monday – Friday between 10 AM – 4 PM and on Saturday, Sunday and National Holidays between 9 AM and 4 PM. 

You can check the website for further details and view the calendar of dates and times on the homepage . 

Surprisingly, the tours to this secret part of Berlin are relatively inexpensive.

– Tour 1, 2 and 3 are €15 

– Tour M is €18 

– The Exhibition, “Myth of Germania” is €6

Do note: The BerlinWelcomeCard is not valid for the tours but for the exhibition “Myth of Germania”.

The Berlin Wall Escape Tunnels

Many attempts were made to escape from East Berlin to the West via man-made tunnels dug deep underground, where everything from reinforcements to lighting and ventilation had to be taken into consideration.

The first tunnel was dug in December 1961 and the last one in 1985, four years before the borders were opened. Of course, some attempts had devastating consequences, when uncovered by the East German secret police (Stasi), but others were successful. The determination resulting in the same people risking their lives to dig another tunnel in a different location months later to help others.

The sewer channels were also used as escape routes, even though the Stasi had put preventative measures in place with grating systems. Initially, the grating was a square shape within the circle of the tunnel meaning there was just enough space to squeeze under – through the sewage.

The Stasi later installed oval-shaped grating and then used measures to cover the space completely. Many West Berlin students had great escape operations in place using the sewage systems to help their friends trapped in the East.

However, when escaping this way, someone had to be the ‘lid man’ with the promise of being able to go down into the hole another time. In the room underground was a manhole cover, the same as the ones you see in the city today and what would have been in use back then. The lights were turned out as if to create the atmosphere of nighttime escape and two strong guys were asked to carefully and quietly lift the heavy lid.

No problem at all, but putting it back? A disastrous mixture of the wrong balance, uneven weight and constant clanging noise. Back then, they would have been caught instantly and killed. It puts into perspective how difficult these escapes were with the Stasi on the lookout right around every corner.

With the construction of the Wall, U-Bahn lines in East Berlin were severed in their connection to the West. But as the East got poorer the two West Berlin lines (the U6 and U8) that ran through East Berlin were ‘rented out’ to the West, allowing them to pass through the East Berlin metro stations without stopping.

We were told about how people cleverly hid among the tracks and side walls ready to jump on passing trains and how the guards on the Eastern side would defect and while on duty, use this route as a means to escape.

When the Stasi lost too many men they eventually locked guards on duty in a room with a small window looking out towards the tracks. Any signs of escapees would have to be called through to a superior, by which point it was probably too late to catch them.

One of the most fascinating parts of the tour was wandering along a huge underground corridor only to emerge from a side door on the wall of the underground station, which most people probably walk past daily and don’t give a second’s thought as to what lays beneath. 

From there you are taken via the metro to my much recommended Berlin Wall viewing site, Bernauer Strasse, where more than seven escape tunnels were attempted within a short distance of just 350 meters of each other. This is also where two of the most successful Berlin Wall escape tunnels were constructed.

READ MORE: Best Place to See the Berlin Wall – the viewing locations and the questions it makes you ask. 

Rectangular panels on pavement and in the grass show the route of an escape tunnel in Berlin.

Photo exhibitions form much of the tour when underground in what is a former civil defence shelter and it brings the stories to life. You will catch a glimpse at a room that formed part of an air-raid shelter on the Berlin tunnels tour, although you will have to take the underground bunker tour (Tour 3) to delve more into that part of the history and see what relics of these hideouts are left.

Thousands were built in the city to provide safety and despite being able to see one, it’s still unknown how many more exist that have yet to be found. 

For those who don’t have the time for the tour or who want to see a reconstruction of what the bunkers that no longer exist look like, the Berlin Underworlds Association run virtual guided tours . You can learn more about the Drivers’ Bunker, the Speer Bunker, the Goebbels Bunker and the Führerbunker, supported by historical overviews, construction plans and interviews with historians and witnesses. 

The cost for the virtual tours is €9.50 and lasts approximately one hour. 

What lies beneath Berlin is well worth viewing. We take riding a metro system for granted without realising how instrumental it was for those planning escape, those seeking shelter and those harbouring secrets.

The guide was both passionate and knowledgeable about the history and expertly clued up on the facts, figures and questions presented by the city’s complex history. To condense Berlin’s history into sizable parts that you can understand is commendable. I even met locals who had said they had wanted to take this tour for the past 10 years to better understand their past. 

Not only do you get to grips with the city’s history, but you get to learn about it from a truly interesting perspective and to understand a complex time in modern history in that way is priceless. 

Many thanks to the Berlin Underworlds Association for allowing me the opportunity to attend one of their tours.

About Becki

Becki Enright is a British Travel Press Award-winning writer whose work focuses on changing perceptions about misunderstood aspects of destinations. Her writing combines storytelling with insight into the social, historical, political and economic factors that shape the country or place in relation to tourism. Becki has appeared live on Sky News and CNN and has contributed to high profile media including National Geographic, Time.com, Guardian online, New York Times, Grazia and Buzzfeed.

20 May 2014 at 4:15 pm

I just did the underground tour last week, it was pretty cool! I also recommend that you check out the abandoned brewery near Schöneweide station (which you have to sneak in), and also the Stasi museum.

Brad Bernard says

17 May 2014 at 5:46 pm

How cool is that? I’m definitely linking here for the Berlin section of my Best Travel Experiences. The tunnels are so fascinating and capture a time when life was much different.

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Exploring the Hitler Bunker: A Tour of Berlin’s Historical Site

by Original Berlin Tours | Mar 7, 2024 | Cold War Tour Berlin

If you’re planning a trip to Berlin and have an interest in history, a visit to the Hitler Bunker is a must. The bunker, officially known as the Führerbunker, played a significant role during World War II and offers a unique opportunity to learn about the final days of Adolf Hitler. In this article, we’ll guide you through the ins and outs of a Hitler Bunker tour in Berlin.

1. History of the Hitler Bunker

The Hitler Bunker, located in central Berlin, was a subterranean complex constructed during World War II. It served as Hitler’s command center and living quarters during the final months of the war. The bunker was heavily fortified and designed to withstand bomb attacks.

2. Booking a Tour

To visit the Hitler Bunker, you’ll need to join a guided tour. Several tour operators offer daily tours that provide in-depth knowledge about the historical significance of the site. It’s recommended to book your tour in advance to secure your spot as they can be quite popular.

2.1 Tour Duration and Cost

The average tour duration is approximately 1 hour, and the cost varies depending on the operator and the type of tour you choose. Prices usually range from €10 to €20 per person. Some tours may also include additional visits to nearby historical sites.

3. What to Expect on the Tour

During the tour, you’ll be guided by an experienced and knowledgeable tour guide who will provide detailed information about the bunker’s history and its significance. You’ll have the opportunity to explore the remnants of the bunker complex and witness the conditions under which Hitler and his inner circle spent their final days.

3.1 Highlights of the Tour

Some of the highlights of the Hitler Bunker tour include:

• Exploring the Führerbunker chambers where Hitler lived and worked.
• Seeing the concrete walls that protected the bunker from bomb blasts.
• Learning about the events leading up to Hitler’s death.
• Gaining insight into the strategies and decision-making processes that took place in the bunker.
• Discovering the underground network of tunnels and facilities.

4. Important Considerations

Before embarking on a Hitler Bunker tour, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

5. Continuing Historical Education

Visiting the Hitler Bunker is an excellent way to gain insight into the events of World War II and Adolf Hitler’s final days. After the tour, consider furthering your historical education by exploring other museums and memorial sites in Berlin, such as the Holocaust Memorial or the Topography of Terror.

6. Conclusion

The Hitler Bunker tour provides an immersive and educational experience for visitors interested in the history of World War II. By joining a guided tour, you’ll have the opportunity to explore the subterranean complex and learn about the final days of Adolf Hitler. Remember to book your tour in advance, follow the tour guidelines, and continue your historical journey by visiting other prominent sites in Berlin. As you delve into the history, be prepared for a thought-provoking and emotional experience.

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Berlin Hitler Bunker Tour – Exploring the Historical Underground

by Original Berlin Tours | Mar 7, 2024 | World War Tour Berlin

Discovering the historical sites of a city can be a fascinating experience, especially when they hold significant importance in shaping world history. One such site is the Hitler Bunker in Berlin. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the essential details you need to know before embarking on a Berlin Hitler Bunker Tour.

What is the Berlin Hitler Bunker?

The Berlin Hitler Bunker, also known as the Führerbunker, was an extensive air-raid shelter and bunker complex located in Berlin, Germany. Constructed in 1944, it served as a personal shelter for Adolf Hitler during the final stages of World War II.

Booking a Tour

Before planning your visit, it’s important to note that the Berlin Hitler Bunker is not open to the public. However, there are several alternative options available to explore the historical significance of the site:

1. Tour the Documentation Center

The Documentation Center, situated nearby, offers visitors an opportunity to learn in-depth about the history of the Führerbunker. You can explore fascinating exhibits, photographs, and documents that shed light on Hitler’s last days in the bunker.

2. Take a Guided Walking Tour

Joining a guided walking tour can be an excellent way to gain insights into the Berlin Hitler Bunker and other significant historical sites. Experienced tour guides will provide you with detailed information and share captivating stories about Hitler’s last stronghold.

Significance of the Berlin Hitler Bunker

The Berlin Hitler Bunker holds immense historical significance due to its association with Adolf Hitler’s final days and the conclusion of World War II. Understanding its importance helps shape our knowledge of the past. Here are some key points to consider:

The Führer’s Last Hideout

During the last days of World War II, Hitler used the bunker as his residence and command center. It was here that he married Eva Braun and, ultimately, where he met his tragic end. Exploring the bunker provides an eerie glimpse into the final moments of the Nazi regime.

The Fall of Berlin

The fall of Berlin marked a pivotal moment in history. The bunker serves as a reminder of this significant event that led to the end of World War II in Europe. Understanding the context surrounding the bunker adds depth to our understanding of the war’s conclusion and the subsequent post-war developments.

Tips for Your Visit

Here are some helpful tips to ensure you make the most out of your visit to the Berlin Hitler Bunker:

• Wear comfortable shoes as you may need to walk or stand for extended periods during the tour.
• Book your tour in advance to secure your spot, especially during peak tourist seasons.
• Bring a guidebook or download an audio guide app to enhance your understanding of the historical context.
• Respect the solemnity of the site and maintain a respectful attitude during your visit.
• Take advantage of nearby attractions such as the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Holocaust Memorial, as they provide additional historical insights.

The Berlin Hitler Bunker tour offers a unique opportunity to explore the history of World War II and gain insights into the final moments of Adolf Hitler. Although the bunker itself is not accessible, alternative options like visiting the Documentation Center or joining a guided walking tour can provide a comprehensive understanding of the site’s significance. Remember to plan your visit in advance and make the most of your experience by immersing yourself in the history surrounding the Berlin Hitler Bunker and its historical context.

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That's amazing: Take a virtual tour of Hitler’s wartime bunker

The codebreaking work carried out at Buckinghamshire’s Bletchley Park, a country house commandeered by the intelligence services, made a significant contribution to the allied victory, and www.bletchleypark. org.uk takes you on a virtual tour during which you can create your own ciphers on a simulation of Enigma, the captured German encryption machine.

On the well-assembled website of the Discovery Channel (tinyurl.com/ 7d7q7), there is an eerie computer- generated model of the Berlin bunker that the German leader, Adolf Hitler, made his final command centre. Here, too, are disturbing photo archives that show American soldiers discovering the couch where Hitler killed himself. For a grim account of what it was like to be a civilian outside the bunker as a vengeful Russian army swept into Berlin,

Site of Hitler’s Bunker

Historic Mitte

Berlin was burning and Soviet tanks advancing relentlessly when Adolf Hitler killed himself on 30 April 1945, alongside Eva Braun, his long-time female companion, hours after their marriage. Today, a parking lot covers the site, revealing its dark history only via an information panel with a diagram of the vast bunker network, construction data and the site’s post-WWII history.

The interior was blown up and sealed off by the Soviets in 1947. The 2004 movie The Downfall vividly chronicles Hitler’s last days in the Führerbunker.

cnr In den Ministergärten & Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse

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The Fuehrer Bunker 1935-1942 A Virtual Reconstruction

• DVD from $9.14

Product Description

Imagine descending the stairs into the darkness, pushing your way through the heavy doors, and marching into the Führer bunker, deep under Berlin. It is the place where Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler spent his final days -- the subject of numerous books and films. But virtually impossible to visit. Until now. Adolf Hitler's bunker comes alive in a new digital 3D reconstruction of the facility that served as the Nazi's underground HQ during the final days of World War 2. This fascinating "virtual tour" shows the construction of the Bunker from it's planning phase in 1935 through to it's extension in 1943. The New Reich's Chancellery and it's system of underground air raid shelters is also shown. Filmmaker Christoph Neubauer and his digital animation company Keystone Animation team studied hundreds of photographs and plans, recently discovered among the files of the former East German Secret Service, to gather as much information as possible about the construction and layout of the Fuehrer Bunker. They compared them with first-hand accounts in memoirs and diaries of those who had used the bunker during the war. This unprecedented program will finally answer many questions and help to demystify what it was like to be in Hitler's last refuge during the last days of World War 2. New DVD Shows what it was like inside Hitler's Bunker PROGRAM: The Fuhrer Bunker (1935-1943) - 37 minutes; A Tour Through the Bunker - 10 Minutes. DVD FEATURES: German and English Trailers; Optional (switchable) English & German Language Versions; Region 0: NTSC Compatible with all DVD Players Worldwide Germany, 2007, Color, 50 Minutes, English/German Language. Produced by Christoph Neubauer

Der Spiegel says of the DVD: "The Führer Bunker (1935-1942)," offers the most realistic recreation yet of Hitler's bomb shelter -- a perfectly pixilated representation of every imaginable nook and cranny of the dictator's last residence. The creator, Christoph Neubauer, hopes that his new video will fix what he sees as repeated misrepresentations of what Hitler's bunker actually looked like. Contrary to contemporary depictions that show Hitler spending his final days in a dark and dank cellar, Neubauer says his research shows the German leader lived quite the life in his underground lair. Most previous presentations of Hitler's lair, Neubauer says, seem "frighteningly superficial."; The proportions are wrong, the ceiling height is off, the doors and airlocks falsely positioned. In the recent movie "Downfall''; which tells the story of Hitler's demise, the Führer and his henchmen are seen to be living in a dank, dark cavern with concrete walls, water seeping through the floors and surrounded by poor lighting. This image has only been further propagated "not because it is true, but because that is how Germans want to continue to imagine Hitler's end," Neubauer says. "I understand the need to do that, but it's not how things looked." Blame the Stasi. In the 1970s, the filmmaker explains, a crew ran electrical wires down into the dilapidated bunker and installed spotlights to photograph their findings. The eerie lighting that resulted has made it into future visual retellings. Mud, rot, mildew and cement prevailed in the popular mind. "The walls were not bare concrete," Neubauer says, "there just was not any plaster left after they were left soaking for decades." --Der Spiegel

Product details

• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 43257-60151
• Director ‏ : ‎ Christoph Neubauer
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Widescreen, Dolby, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 50 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ December 3, 2007
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Albert Speer
• Studio ‏ : ‎ International Historic Films, Inc.
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0015FJYRE
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #3,740 in Military & War (Movies & TV)
• #10,439 in Documentary (Movies & TV)

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Ticket Berlin Story Bunker: "Documentation Hitler - how could it happen" Adult

Description

In the Berlin Story Bunker, you will find three exhibitions in a 6,500 square metre bunker from the Second World War, including the world's leading documentation about National Socialism and Hitler. Embark on a tour through history. Valid directly as a smartphone voucher.

1 ticket for all exhibitions in the Berlin Story Bunker:

✔ Documentation: Hitler – How could it happen ✔ Museum: Germany 1945 - today ✔ Memes: Special exhibition

Documentation: Hitler - how could it happen in the Berlin Story Bunker

The detailed documentation "Hitler - how could it happen" covers an exhibition area of more than 3,000 square metres over three floors of the bunker.

A comprehensive documentary exhibition with 38 themed areas

The exhibition takes visitors through 38 comprehensive themed areas and explains everything about the air raid shelter built in 1942, the terror of the National Socialists, the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitler's last hideout, the Führerbunker. The documentary also explains the topics of the bunker, the Third Reich, the Nazi era, the myth of Germania, flight, expulsion and the Holocaust in detail using countless documents, texts, photos and films. This world-leading documentation on National Socialism and Hitler is more comprehensive than visitors can imagine.

Exhibition in the museum: Germany 1945 to today

In the second part of the bunker you will discover the museum with the exhibition Germany 1945 to today. From the unconditional surrender, the post-war period, the economic miracle, the 1968s as a social turning point, the fall of the Berlin Wall to the war in Ukraine. Here you can find out how Germany became what it is today. The museum shows important moments in history up to the present day.

Memes: A special exhibition

In the third part you will see a temporary special exhibition. Memes are caricatures, photos with funny texts or videos on the Internet. Propaganda used to come from the propaganda minister, now it comes from the people. "A picture is worth a thousand words." Political and social events are explained not only in formal texts but also in pictures. The special exhibition in one room of the Berlin Story Bunker shows how this propaganda tool works. A historical look at the political impact of images and their history.

short description

How did it happen? Why did so many people vote for Hitler? The bloodiest war in history ended with Hitler' s suicide. Life-size reconstruction of his quarters in the bunker, a model of the Führer Bunker, photos, documents, films.

Texts: DE & EN

Free Audio-Guide: DE, EN, FR, RU, ES, IT, NL, DK, PL, UA, PT

2 - 3 hours

Opening hours

Mo. - Su.: 10:00 am – 07:00 pm; last entrance 5.30 pm

Important information

• unsuitable for wheelchair users and baby buggies
• Photos are not permitted

Meeting point

Berlin Story Bunker, Schöneberger Straße 23a, 10963 Berlin

Arrival by public transport

S-Bahn | S1, S2, S25, S26 (Anhalter Bahnhof)

U-Bahn | U1, U3, U7 (Möckernbrücke); U1, U2, U3 (Gleisdreieck)

Bus | M29 (Schöneberger Brücke); N1 (U Möckernbrücke)

Availabilities & prices

Places available 97

Places available 100

Places available 98

Places available 96

Getting there

• EILMELDUNG — __proto_headline__

Nazi Germany on DVD A New Digital Look into Hitler's Bunker

• Zur Merkliste hinzufügen
• Link kopieren
• Weitere Optionen zum Teilen

Imagine descending the stairs into the darkness, pushing your way through the heavy doors, and marching into the Führer bunker, deep under Berlin. It is the place where Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler spent his final days -- the subject of numerous books and films. But virtually impossible to visit. Until now.

A new DVD, called "The Führer Bunker (1935-1942),"  offers the most realistic recreation yet of Hitler's bomb shelter -- a perfectly pixelated representation of every imaginable nook and cranny of the dictator's last residence. The creator, Christoph Neubauer, hopes that his new video, the third in a series devoted to the Berlin government quarter in Nazi Germany, will fix what he sees as repeated misrepresentations of what Hitler's bunker actually looked like.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of false representations that are floating around out there," Neubauer told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "From the History and Discovery Channels, to any number of books by amateur historians … the representations of Hitler's bunker are based on photographs of a bunker that had already been destroyed and lying under mud and water for 30 years. The fact is that there are no existing pictures of how the bunker looked before that. Nobody knows."

Virtual Tour of Hitler's Headquarters

The new film is the third in a series, following "The Berlin Government District" -- a digital walk up Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin from where the Nazis ruled the Third Reich -- and "Albert Speer's Neue Reichskanzlei" -- which gives viewers a virtual tour of Hitler's above-ground headquarters  . The films took Neubauer, a German-born filmmaker who runs Keystone Animation in South Africa, some 16,800 hours -- about two and a half years -- of research, photographic comparison and digital animation to complete.

The virtual structures are based on over 800 photographs and documents from public and private archives in Berlin. And the result, a short clip of which is viewable here  , displays a perfectly accurate rendering of much of the architecture, along with some interiors, of the Third Reich. Over 2 million objects -- including fallen tree branches in the courtyards, swastika-bedecked chairs in the dining room, books, pipes, papers -- and 600 buildings are presented with stunning visual clarity. It looks like the truth.

For his bunker research, Neubauer used the original architectural plans and compared them with photographs that were made by the East German secret police, the Stasi, in the 1970s. In addition to the 75 pictures, there were also descriptive notes and maps from German archives to examine. Meticulously overlaying the various plans and studying the corresponding photographs enabled Neubauer to create a digital 3D image of how the bunker would have looked. Naturally, he amends, "we had to guess on the colors."

Most previous presentations of Hitler's lair, Neubauer says, seem "frighteningly superficial." The proportions are wrong, the ceiling height is off, the doors and airlocks falsely positioned. In the recent movie "Downfall," which tells the story of Hitler's demise, the Führer and his henchmen are seen to be living in a dank, dark cavern with concrete walls, water seeping through the floors and surrounded by poor lighting.

Second Life for Nazi Bunker

This image has only been further propagated "not because it is true, but because that is how Germans want to continue to imagine Hitler's end," Neubauer says. "I understand the need to do that, but it's not how things looked."

Blame the Stasi. In the 1970s, the filmmaker explains, a crew ran electrical wires down into the dilapidated bunker and installed spotlights to photograph their findings. The eerie lighting that resulted has made it into future visual retellings. Mud, rot, mildew and cement prevailed in the popular mind. "The walls were not bare concrete," Neubauer says, "there just was not any plaster left after they were left soaking for decades."

Neubauer has been living in sunny South Africa for the last five years, moving there originally, he says, to learn English; "not too much English instruction in East Germany in the 1980s," he laments. In the meantime, however, he set up his own digital production company, Keystone Animation, which produced "The Führer Bunker," and is currently working on the second part of the film for the years 1943-45. He also started a publishing company in Germany to sell and distribute the films.

"Being in South Africa has made it much easier to work on such a controversial and sensitive subject," Neubauer says. "It has enabled me to have a certain distance from my own national history and identity," he admits, "and to have a bit more objectivity in analyzing the architectural realities of the Reich. It's a subject that makes for discomfort at home."

Neubauer's matter-of-fact conclusion about the mythologized bunker, he said, is that Hitler spent his last days neither in an dark, dank cavern, nor in some plush grotto surrounded by luxury. Rather, he spent it in a seemingly normal, staid, if well protected, government office that happened to be underground.

Soon, Neubauer is hoping, visitors will be able to stroll around the bunker themselves -- in the online space Second Life. Keystone Animation already has an employee working on it.

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Hitlers Bunker in Berlin

• 7 August, 2020
• By Kai Lehmann
• Nazis in Berlin , Travel Blog Berlin

The place where Hitler finally died in Berlin.

The Berlin Bunker where Adolf  Hitler commited suicide on April 30, 1945 is today the most visited parking lot in the world.

In this short article I will explain the fascinating story of Hitler’s Bunker, although I may well have entitled the post in an alternative way: “ How a guide can turn a parking lot into a place worth visiting “. But now let’s see why!

To tell you the truth, every time I come to this place  I wonder what can make it really attractive, but on the other hand, every time I finish telling the story, I better understand its true meaning and relevant importance compared to other places told and visited during our english walking tour of Berlin .

Because this is a place that forces me to reconstruct in words what the bombs have completely destroyed and it is also the right place that reveals Hitler exactly in his historical importance .

WHAT IS A BUNKER?

The word bunker, whose origin, as you can guess, is German, refers to a reinforced concrete construction. It’s usually an underground place and serves as a shelter during bombardments.

During the Second World War similar constructions proliferated in most German cities and also in Berlin there were several types: the most famous of all is called Hitler’s Bunker .

Most of these structures in Berlin were elevated bunkers and some can still be visited. But this is not the case for Hitler’s Bunker, which is just a memory and a few surviving blocks of concrete.

THE STORY OF HITLER’S BUNKER IN BERLIN

The so-called Hitler’s Bunker in Berlin is a place of pilgrimage for many visitors. Despite the truth, at least at the moment, it is more or less just a parking lot .

Certainly, back in the days that space housed the building in which Adolf Hitler spent his last months of life, a building that was built from 1943 in the underground of the Chancellery gardens. A concrete colossus of impressive dimensions , for a total of 540 square meters, located at a depth of about 8 meters!

The famous bunker consisted of two parts, each with different functions: one was intended for the dictator and his personal environment, the other was addressed to the bureaucratic apparatus.

Andy es, this is also the place where Hitler married Eva Braun and then took his own life. It was in this place that the myth of his survival arose; a myth fuelled by the fact that the body found had been totally burned and any visual identification was practically impossible.

HITLER’S BUNKER IN BERLIN

What we know about those last few months comes from the testimony of the people who were there. Many of them were questioned by the Allies and some spoke to the media again decades later. Based on these stories and existing documentation we can get a more or less clear idea of what happened.

Many of these sources were also used for the film “ Downfall / Der Untergang ” in 2004. And it was precisely this film that turned this place, which Germany itself had almost forgotten, into a real tourist attraction.

HITLER’S BUNKER TODAY

Although the building was destroyed after the war and most Berliners did not know where it was, today Hitler’s Bunker is an essential sightseeing spot for many visitors to Berlin. Many groups with their guides gather daily in the middle of an insignificant space that, at first glance, could be associated with the outskirts of any city. But instead we are in the heart of the former German capital .

Various guides who pass through here, sometimes humorously and sometimes with a certain solemnity, try to translate this space to those who arrive in the capital of Germany. Sure, looking for traces of this central figure of the 20th century in this particular place, requires quite some imagination and a professional tourguide is essential.

There is simply almost nothing left. If we would excavate the grounds, we would find blocks of concrete and perhaps a few everyday objects. The remains of walls more than three meters deep and the ceiling will most certainly raise the questions of archaeologists in the future, questions that probably not even those who lived at that time would be able to answer.

HITLER AND BERLIN: A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP

The truth is that Berlin has found no other way to approach the man it never wanted but for whom it has inevitably become linked to. Hitler never liked Berlin very much and according to his words, Berlin was never a “city of national movement”, which is what the Nazis called Hitler’s political ambitions . However, when you say “Berlin”, the whole world immediately thinks of those 12 years when Hitler ruled Germany.

Perhaps this place conveys to us how the Germans have placed themselves and still relating  themselves to the Nazi times, especially when compared to the monuments dedicated to the various and numerous victim groups.

In fact, while the victims of the Nazi dictatorship have in the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe or in the Memorials dedicated to the Roma and Sinti and homosexual victims of the Nazi persecution reached a prominent place in the collective memory, thanks also to tangible exhibitions located in the immediate vicinity of the place where Hitler’s New Chancellery was located, the tyrant himself deserved nothing more than an empty place , which does not invite us to forget, but rather to reinterprete constantly its importance.

His crimes will never be forgotten, but they are now only worth to be told in a parking lot. For a man who wanted to be at the centre of the world, this seems undoubtedly an unflattering destination.

HOW TO GET TO HITLER’S BUNKER IN BERLIN

– By underground: Brandenburger Tor stop (lines U55, S1, S2) or Mohrenstrasse (U2);

– By bus: Wilhelmstraße stop (Bus line 200, 300 M48);

– With our private english walking tours „ Essential Berlin “ or with the „ All of Berlin “ Tour. Get to know this unique place better accompanied by an expert Vive Berlin  tourguide in native english language!

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Germany ‎ > Berchtesgaden > Hitlers Eagles Nest Tour

Suggested Itineraries for Berchtesgaden  | Getting To Berchtesgaden

• Berchtesgaden
• Top 10 Things To Do
• Hitler's Eagles Nest Tour
• King's Lake Ferry Tour
• Old Town Walking Tour
• Best Day Trips
• Helpful Visitor Tips
• Getting To Berctesgaden
• Suggested Itineraries
• Best Festivals

Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest Tour & Area Sites:

Location :  Obersalzberg Mountain above Berchtesgaden Cost :  21€ for Adults, 15€ for Children for Local Bus + RVO Bus Time Required :  3 hours round-trip from the Berchtesgaden Train Station to visit the Eagles Nest ( +2-3 hours for Obersalzberg sites & Museum; +1 hours with luge slide visit ) Fun Scale :  9.5 out of 10

The lore of the mountaintop Eagles Nest, Dokumentation Center Museum, Hitler’s teahouse, secret bunkers, and Nazi command centers draw in WW2 history buffs to Berchtesgaden from all over the world.  With 120-mile-views and tons of green space, most of these WW2 sites are on the hillside of Upper Salt Mountain ( Obersalzberg ) overlooking the village.  Not only did the Alpine beauty of this area inspire Hitler’s writing, but it also became the place he spent 1/3 of his time in power, more than any other location.  Even without learning about the WW2 history, the gorgeous Obersalzberg area is a must visit while you are in Berchtesgaden.

Closures In The Winter:

While the Nazi Dokumentation Center Museum & Bunkers stay open year round, the rest of the sites on Obersalzberg Mountain close November-April each year.  These high elevation closures for Winter include Hitler’s Eagles Nest, Berghof Bunkers below Zum Turks Hotel, and the Summer slide luge.

How To Get to Hitler’s Eagles Nest:

Step 1 : Berchtesgaden Train Station > Obersalzberg Dokmentation Center ( Bus 838 )

Step 2 :  Obersalzberg Eagles Nest Ticket Booth > Eagles Nest Parking Lot ( RVO Bus 849 )

Step 3 : Eagles Nest Parking Lot > Eagles Nest ( Tunnel & Elevator )

Bus Route Overview :  Assuming you followed our guide on how to get to Berchtesgaden Salzburg or Munich, you will be starting off at the Berchtesgaden Train Station.  To get the Eagles Nest you first take  Local Bus 838  to the Nazi Documentation Center.  An all-day ticket for all the local buses costs around 5€.  Bus 838 leaves at least once an hour and the ride to the Documentation Center will only take 12 minutes.  If you are staying overnight in Berchtesgaden, the regular local buses are free with your hotel guest card ( kurkarte ).  There are also taxis at the station to cover this leg of the journey.

Reaching the Documentation Center bus stop, you will cross the road and parking lot to get to the Eagles Nest ticket booth ( see map above ) to switch to RVO Bus 849 .  This is a special RVO Bus and requires a stand-alone Eagles Nest Bus ticket ( 16.10€ for Adults, 9.30€ for Children ) even if you have a city bus pass.  Bus 849 leaves every 25 minutes from 7:40am-4pm your steep journey up the private mountain road ( closed to cars ) will take 20 minutes.  Before riding the elevator the final way up to tour the Eagles Nest, make sure visit the information window.  You will need to choose a return time get your bus ticket stamped at the window to ensure yourself a spot back down the mountain to the Documentation Center.

By Hiking :  You can get to the Eagles Nest by Alpine hiking on one of two well-marked trails illustrated on our map above.  From the  Ofneralm Parking Lot , it is a 1.5-2 hour long strenuous hike up.  From the  Scharitzkehl Parking Lot , it is around a 3-hour hike up.  If you don’t have a car, you can take the 838 bus to the end of the line at the Christophorusschule ( Gymnasium ) Stop near the Scharitzkehl Parking Lot.  You can also catch this trail not far from the Luge mentioned below cutting your hike down from 3 to 2 hours.  Make sure not to hike on the road as there is no space for pedestrians and it is also a longer route.  If you take the 838 & 849 up the mountain and want to hike the last bit instead of the elevator, it only takes about 10-15 minutes.

Overview of Obersalzberg During WW2:

Sitting directly above Berchtesgaden, the small neighborhood of Obersalzberg provides the best Alpine views in Germany.  These fantastic views attracted a young Adolf Hitler to rent a home here fresh out of jail from 1923’s failed Beer Hall Putsch in Munich.  Hitler found inspiration in Obersalzberg, and it’s here that he finished his Nazi propaganda book, My Struggle ( Mein Kampf ).  After rising to power, Hitler started to forcibly seize most of the neighborhood’s home and turned the area into a military zone called Leader’s Restricted Area ( Führer Sperrgebiet ).  Berchtesgaden’s Obersalzberg served as the place where Hitler spent 1/3 of his time in power ( more than anywhere else ), became a Third Reich stronghold, and was the backup command center for the Nazi government.

After the British bombing of Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden was liberated on May 4th, 1945 with the US Army reaching the mountainside the following day.  Many of the Nazi buildings were looted after the bombings and on April 30th, 1952 ( the 7th anniversary of Hitler’s suicide ) the Bavarians tore down much of their remains to prevent them from becoming neo-Nazi shrines.  Sections of the Obersalzberg hillside remained under the control of the US Army until it was entirely given back to Berchtesgaden in 1995.

Visiting the remaining ruins, seeing Hitler’s Eagles Nest, touring the museum in the Dokumentation Center, and learning more about the Nazi’s evil reign of terror is a very educational experience.  Among the ruins, you can tour restored sections of the original 4 miles of underground Nazi bunkers.  Touring the sites and learning is important to remember the horrors of the past so they never happen again.

The Eagles Nest Area Attractions:

1. eagles nest mountain road ( kehlsteinstrasse ):.

About Eagles Nest Mountain Road :  Completed in late-1938 after only 13 months of cutting through solid rock, the Eagles Nest Mountain Road is a marvel built by Nazi engineer Martin Bormann.  The 4-mile long road climbs over 700 meters ( 2,297 feet ) up at a 27% incline with 5 tunnels and only 1 switchback .  Because of the steep cliff drop-offs, there simply wasn’t room to use more switchbacks making the road that much more impressive.

The journey up the mountain road by bus is very exciting ( not scary ) and offers amazing views.  Because most of the road is only one lane, expect that your bus will stop a couple times to wait for oncoming buses to pass.  The steep one-lane mountain road is closed to the public , originally for security reasons and later for safety.  With the route closed to public traffic, the only way to reach the Hitler’s famous Eagles Next ( outside of a 2-hour strenuous hike ) is by the special RVO Bus 849 which whizzes you up the mountain.  Remember that this bus ( nicknamed the Eagles Nest Bus ) requires a standalone ticket  bought at the booth in Obersalzburg ( see map above ) even if you have a bus pass for Berchtesgaden’s local in-town routes.

2. The Eagles Nest ( Kehlsteinhaus ):

About Hitler’s Eagles Nest :  With the best panoramic views in Germany, the Eagles Nest is by far the top attraction in Berchtesgaden.   Perched almost 3,000 feet above the surrounding valley floor, on a clear day you will able to see up to an unbelievable  120 miles away !   The entire Eagles Nest project from the mountain road to the Alpine chalet at the top was meant to be a gift  for Hitler’s 50th birthday  on April 20th, 1939.

Nazi engineer Martin Bormann carefully chose the location because he knew Hitler loved the views at the Teehaus he visited daily.  It was no small feat as the tortuous road required 3000 workers to labor in dangerous conditions around the clock.   While it took 13 months to build the 4-mile-long road, the chalet on top was actually completed a year earlier in the Fall of 1938.

The interior of the chalet was lavishly decorated including a marble fireplace that was a gift from Italian dictator Mussolini.  There was also a decadent carpet which was a gift from Jananese Emperor Hirohito.  As amazing as the chalet was, however, Hitler  only made 14 official visits  up to the Eagles Nest and most were in the first year.  That’s pretty odd seeing how he spent almost 1/3 of his time in power at his Berghof in the nearby Obersalzberg Complex.  His first visit was on September 16th, 1938 last and the last was October 17th, 1940 even though he stayed in Obersalzburg through much of 1944.  The most common reasons we have heard to why this was is because Hitler didn’t like the change of air pressure from the high elevation at the Eagles Nest and that he was afraid of being hit by lightning in the elevator.  Although Hitler himself didn’t tour the site often, his mistress Eva Braun frequented the Eagles Nest.  Eva’s sister Gretl even had her wedding reception at the chalet in 1944.

Thanks to the cover of a light dusting of snow the day before, the Eagles Nest was spared from British bombings on April 25th, 1945, but it didn’t escape unharmed.  When American and French troops arrived many soldiers chipped souvenir pieces off the building’s stone facade and took almost everything inside.  Unlike most of the Obersalzberg Complex, this Nazi building wasn’t demolished and instead was  turned into a restaurant  in 1952. The Eagle’s Nest Restaurant has good food, an unbeatable patio, but can get a little crowded in the afternoons, especially if it is a clear day.

At the entrance of the Eagles Nest, you get to use the same long tunnel that Hitler used to access the high-speed elevator.  After a slick 407-foot journey straight up the shiny brass embellished elevator , you arrive at the chalet.  Some visitors like the long hike from the Eagles Nest entrance to the top, but we suggest taking the elevator.   Once at the hop though make sure to take the gradual hike up 300 feet above the chalet to the summit of the peak marked by the  Mountain Cross .  It is here at the Mountain Cross where you will be able to take the iconic photos back toward the Eagles Nest with the valley below.  You will also be able to see cement platforms from two of the four 3.7cm guns that protected the chalet from air attacks.  There were at least 14 batteries built around Berchtesgaden with heavy flak guns between 1943 and 1945.

Seasonality :  Due to its high elevation the Eagle’s Nest is open in summer only, usually from about mid-May through October.   Getting To The Eagle’s Nest By Bus :  The easiest way to get here is to take the RVO Bus from the Documentation Center’s Hintereck Parking lot which leaves every 25 minutes from 7:40am-4pm and costs 16.10€ for Adults, 9.30€ for Children.   Getting To The Eagle’s Nest By Hiking :  You can get to the Eagles Nest by Alpine hiking on one of two well-marked trails illustrated on our map above.  From the Ofneralm Parking Lot, it is a 1.5-2 hour long strenuous hike up.  From the Scharitzkehl Parking Lot in about 3-hour hike. If you don’t have a car take the 383 bus to the end of the line at the Christophorusschule ( Gymnasium ) Stop near the Scharitzkehl Parking Lot.  You can also catch this trail near the Luge mentioned below cutting your hike down to 2 hours.    Cost :  Hitler’s Eagles Nest is now a restaurant and there is no cost for visiting. The high-speed elevator is free.   Website:   Here .

3. Platterhof Hotel & Cottage of Struggle :

About The  Platterhof Hotel :  As you step off of Bus 838, the first building you reach after crossing the street from the stop is the former Platterhof  Hotel.  Originally built as the Steinhausen, Mauritia “Moritz” Mayer bought the property in 1877 and opened it as the Pension Moritz.  The hotel quickly began to host celebrity guests, and Moritz became a pioneer of modern tourism in Germany and Central Europe.  The hotel’s nickname Platterhof came because Moritz had inspired the character of author Judith Platter in Richard Voss’ famous novel Zwei Menschen ( Two People ) from 1911 which later became a movie.

Hitler first starting coming to Berchtesgaden in 1923 when he would meet his friend and mentor Dietrich Eckart at Platterhof under the name Herr Wolf .  He quickly fell in love with the Obersalzberg area calling Berchtesgaden his New Chosen Homeland ( Wahlheimat ) .  After getting out of the cushy Landsberg Prison in December 1924 from his failed Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Hitler soon came back to Berchtesgaden renting a rustic cabin in the woods across the road from the Platterhof. Known as the Cottage of Struggle ( Kampfhäusl ), the cabin was where Hitler finished writing Mein Kampf ( My Struggle ).

Much of Hitler’s political manifesto had written in prison, but was in his Cottage of Struggle that the two sections of his rambling propaganda book were finetuned to express is radical ideology and future plans for Germany.  The push to finish Mein Kampf came after Hitler was banned from public speaking in Bavaria for two years because of violent language in a speech 0n February 27th 1925 in Munich’s Bürgerbräukeller ( site of the failed Putsch ) meant to reboot the Nazi Party.  During this time, Hitler knew that the written word was the best way to get out his radical messaging.  While the wooden cabin is long gone, the stone foundations Moll bunker ruins can easily be visited with a very short walk behind the power station hut along the road.

During the Nazi occupation of Obersalzberg ( 1933-45 ), the Platterhof Hotel was expanded by the government and remolded into deluxe accommodations for high ranking Nazis and dignified guests.  Unlike many other buildings on the mountain, the hotel wasn’t torn down by the city in 1952 and instead became the Hotel General Walker after renovations by the US Army.  This change included turning the former Terrace Hall into the Skyline Restaurant.

The property was given back to the city of Berchtesgaden in 1995 but torn down most of the hotel in 2000 including its courtyards.  The only remaining part of the Platterhof is the former Terrace Hall ( later Skyline Restaurant ) which has now been turned into the Berggasthof Restaurant ( website ).  The rest hotel had been quite large, was connected to underground bunkers, and used to take up most of the restaurant’s parking lot.

4. Dokumentation Center & Bunkers :

About The  Dokumentation Center :  Sitting on the site of today’s Dokumentation Center Museum was once the Alpine hotel called  Gästehaus Hoher Göll .  After becoming German Chancellor in 1933, Hitler ( who lived next door ) started seizing neighborhood homes and hotels to create a vast 80 building compound here known as the Obersalzberg Complex .  The Gästehaus Hoher Göll was incorporated into the Obersalzburg Complex in 1934 and renovated into offices for the staff of Hitler’s right-hand man Martin Bormann.

The Obersalzburg Complex was declared a military-only area in 1936 and became the official second seat of the 3rd Reich government known as the Führer’s Security Zone.  Secret Nazi plans were hatched out at the complex and Hitler spent around 1/3 of this time in power at the compound, more than any other location.

When the Nazi’s lost the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, they built a  4-mile-long bunker system  under the Obersalzberg Complex for added security.  The bunkers held meeting room, lavish apartments, and served as air raid shelters, underground shooting ranges, archive storage, and food reserves.  Both the Gästehaus and Platterhof Hotels shared a joint section of the Obersalzberg bunkers, and they were connected to the Hitler’s private Berhof bunkers by an elevator shaft another 30 meters ( 100 feet ) deeper.  There was even an additional 1-mile-long uncompleted bunker called Obertal another 100 meters (338 feet) below the Berghof bunkers.  The Obertal bunker would have been like an underground highway connecting to the Gusthof farm in Obersalzberg for access to Berchtesgaden in one direction and Salzburg the in other direction.

On April 25th, 1945 much of the Obersalzberg Complex was bombed by the British Airforce but the bunker system was unhurt .  Over 3000 people sheltered in the bunkers and only 12 people were killed in the bombing.  Berchtesgaden surrendered on May 4th and by the time US troops arrived on Obersalzburg the next day looting had already begun on the Nazi buildings.  Wine, cigars, and furniture were plundered from the basements and bunkers, but no shots were fired.

The US Army kept the hillside on lockdown through 1949 and still occupied much many building on Obersalzberg until 1995. In 1999, the local government  built a museum on the ruins of the former Gästehaus Hotel so the citizens could learn from the past and never repeat it.  This preservation was a welcomed move by historians as when the city had been given control of six other former Nazi buildings in 1952 they demolished them out of fear they may be glorified.

The original foundation of the former Gästehaus Hotel and large sections of the Nazi’s underground bunker system were tastefully incorporated into today’s Dokumentation Center Museum.  From the outside, you can see the three tan stone archways on the end of the museum which were part of the original building.  Going on a self-guided  tour of the underground bunkers truly feels like you are stepping into the past, or at least an old James Bond film.  We find the informational exhibits at the museum to be fascinating and very educational.  The Dokumentation Center Museum was built to accommodate 30,000-40,000 annual guests but had to be significantly expanded in 2016 since they get four times the amount of visitors they initially expected.

Cost :  3€ for Adults, Children Free.   Hours :  April-October Daily 9am-5pm; November-March Tuesday-Sunday 10am-3pm, Closed Mondays in Winter.   Audio Tours :  English audio guide tour available for rent 2€.   Guided Tours :  Available in English Mid May-October, you may book ahead of time  HERE .   Website :   Here .

5. Hitler’s Berghof Ruins :

About Hitler’s Berghof : Just a short wooded stroll up from the Nazi Documentation Center Museum brings you to the ruins of the Berghof mansion where Hitler spent 1/3 of his time in power, more than any other location.  From his first visit in 1923, the beauty of Obersalzburg above Berchtesgaden had attracted Hitler who was also an inspiring artist most of his life.  By 1928 Hitler started renting a small 5-room rustic vacation cottage on this site  called Haus Wachenfeld ( built 1916 ).  He fell in love with the views of Untersberg Mountain which mythology says Charlemagne lays resting in an ice cave ready for the re-birth of the Holy Roman Empire ( abolished 1806 ).  After becoming German Chancellor in 1933, Hitler bought the Haus Wachenfeld to become his primary home and began expanding it into his Mountain Court ( Berghof ) .

The Berghof grew from the small Haus Wachenfeld into a 30-room mansion, with outdoor stone terraces, a lavish great hall ( 60×50 feet ), bowling alley, expensive tapestries, 24-person dining room, and a huge 90-pane retractable window wall.  The expansion of the property into the Berghof compound was the start of a new Nazi military complex fanning out along Upper Salt Mountain ( Obersalzberg ).  By 1936 the Obersalzburg Complex became a secure military zone and complete with an extensive network of underground bunkers .  By 1943 there were 4 miles of shelters with Hitler’s private bunker section below Berghof ranging from 100-200 feet deep, with 44,000 square feet of living space, a dog kennel, a kitchen, archives, and many military operation elements.

Joining Hitler at Berghof were his  mistress/wife Eva Braun  and their dogs including a German Shepard named Blondi.  Hitler had met Eva in Munich in 1929 ( she was 17, he 40 ) where she was a model and assistant to his photographer.  For much of WW2 Eva stayed at the Berghof and was relatively sheltered from the more delicate details of the war.  With Hitler often away from home she twice attempted suicide with his gun in what were believed to be pleas for attention.  Some of the frustration was because Hitler refused to marry her believing it would reduce his attractiveness to women in his ongoing pursuit to control people with his image.

From the time Hitler became the German Reich Chancellor in 1933, hoards of his “fans” including thousands of children would flock to the Berghof .  As many as 5,000 people a day would come to the entrance of the property in the Summer to try to get greeted by the Führer.  Hitler’s celebrity was growing, and he would even sign autographs here as he routinely welcomed his visitors midday.  As the Nazis bought the hillside ( was more of a seizure ), Obersalzberg became a restricted area for security.  There was also a significant SS guardhouse gate on the road below the Berghof which served as the primary entrance into the estate.

There were many famous guests at Berghof including British Prime Ministers David Lloyd George in 1936 and Neville Chamberlain who came to negotiate a peace treaty in 1938.  These meetings led to the Munich Agreement which then handed vast parts of Czechoslovakia over to Germany in exchange for a peace that never happened.  Other guests included Duke Edward and Duchess of Windsor, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, King Carol II of Romania, and many Many Ambassadors.  That meeting in 1937 with Duke Edward of Windsor was one of the most famous as he had abdicated the throne as King Edward VIII of England the previous year after only 10 months because he wanted to marry a divorced woman.  Although he wasn’t pro-Nazi, Edward supported Hitler and even did the Nazi salute during his visit in hopes of being put back on the throne if the United Kingdom was conquered.

Hitler left Berghof on June 15th, 1944 for the Eastern Front in Poland and then spent the last few months of the war in Berlin.  On April 15th, 1945 Eva Braun also left Berghof to join Hitler ( 5 days before his birthday ) in his Berlin Bunker even though the Soviets troops were getting near the capital.  Just 10 days later Berghof and much of the rest of Obersalzberg was severely damaged by British bombers.  Somehow only 12 people were killed as over 3,000 including one of Hitler’s top generals hide in the underground bunkers.  On the 29th of April, 1945 Eva and Hitler were finally married inside the Führerbunker in Berlin, and just 40 hours later the couple committed suicide ( she was 33, he 56 ) with the Soviet Red Army closing in on them.

With Berchtesgaden surrendering on May 4th, 1945 the Berghof was looted and set on fire by retreating Nazi troops as they left Obersalzburg.  The next day US troops planted their flag on the hillside and finished the rest of Hitler’s remaining wine.  It’s said that the fire did more damage to the Berghof than the bombs did leaving the compound as a burnt out shell.  To deter sight-seers and neo-Nazis, the Bavarian government demolished the remaining shell of the Berghof complex on April 30th, 1952 ( the 7th anniversary of Hitler’s suicide ).

Even after the US Army gave Obersalzberg back to Berchtesgaden in 1995, you could still go into some of the tunnels directly below Berghof until they were cemented shut in 2013.  The only public sections left of his private bunkers that can be visited are at the Zum Turks Hotel which is next on this Third Reich locations tour.

6. Hotel to the Turks ( Zum Türken ):

About Hotel Zum Türken :  There has been a cozy Alpine lodge at this pristine location since the Little Turk House ( Türkenhäusl ) was built here in 1630 .  The nickname came from the original owner who was a veteran of the Turkish sieges on Vienna ( 1529-1683 ).  He really did pick the perfect spot as this wonderful building has unmatched views of the surrounding mountains.

In 1903, Karl Schuster bought the Little Turk House and within eight years remodeled it into the guesthouse Zum Türken complete with its own butcher shop.  Previous to this, Schuster was also the innkeeper at the Purtschellerhaus am Hohen Göll which still sits nearby on the German/Austrian border.  The Zum was a huge success attracting famous guests like German composer Johannes Brahms, the Crown Prince Wilhelm & Princess Cacilie of Prussia, and Prince-Regent Luitpold of Bavaria.

As Hitler moved in next door in 1928 and started buying up all of the buildings on the Obersalzberg mountainside near Berghof, Schuster refused to sell Hotel Zum Tuerken.  Karl Schuster was outspoken against the Nazis and wasn’t happy that the presence of SS Troop at his neighbor’s house was hurting his hotel business.  To force him to sell, Hitler sent Schuster to serve  3 weeks as a prisoner at the Dachau Concentration Camp  and the property was forcibly seized by the Nazis.   During the World War Two, a Nazi SS Guard post ( still there ) and gate were set up on the edge of the parking lot and the Zum Tuerken was used to house troops.

The property was heavily bombed in WW2 after which the Schuster/Scharfenberg family had to fight to re-buy their damaged home so it wouldn’t be torn down by the government.  Crazy to think they had to fight to re-buy their own home which had been taken from them just a decade earlier.  After finally getting their home back, the family repaired it and are on their 4th generation running the hotel.  While the hotel has no wifi, it has cozy rooms, great hospitality, has a wonderful terrace for taking in the Alpine air, and is in a great location to go hiking.

Below the hotel is a large section of intact  underground bunkers  built in 1943 as air raid shelters and are open for the public to tour.  This section of bunkers was once connected to Hitler’s Berghof next door, his underground apartments, and served as a secret escape exit.  On a tour of the underground bunkers , you can see the bricked up entrance that once led to Hitler’s Berghof, can peek into some defensive gun windows, and see three underground jail cells.  In total there were 6 separate bunker systems ( bunkeranlagen ) with over 4 miles of tunnels in Obersalzberg all of which were 100-300 feet below ground.  The multi-level network of tunnels provided air raid protection for thousands of people if necessary.  These deep bunker systems protected 3,000 people in Obersalzberg during British bombings with only 12 people dying.

Keep in mind that if you visit the bunkers that this is a real mom and pop hotel business run by a hard-working family.  You need to be respectful and remember that their home was forcibly seized during the war, it was bombed, and they had work very hard for generations to get their amazing hotel back to where it was before the occupation.  Please don’t park in their parking lot or try to enter the hotel lobby as both are reserved for guests only.  For the privacy of the family and hotel guests, don’t gawk or take selfies at the property.

Bunker Tours :  Mid-April through October they are Wednesday-Monday 10am-3pm, Closed Tuesdays;   Christmas through mid-January they open daily 11am-3pm; Closed the rest of the year.  Bunker Tour Entrance : Note that the hotel lobby is locked and for guests only.  There is a special entrance on the side for the bunker tours with a large sign that says Bunkers Entrance ( Eingang Bunkeranlagen ).   Hotel Seasonality : Open May-October; Closed November-April.  Minimum 2-night stay.   Website :   Here .

7. Hitler’s Tea House ( Teehaus ):

About Hitler’s Tea House :  Located on Mooslahnerkopf Hill near the Berchtesgaden Golf Course was once Hitler’s famous Teehaus built in 1937.  On a daily basis around 10am, Hitler would take a 10-15 minute afternoon stroll from his Berghof to the Tea House with his dog to relax and nap.  Often people incorrectly call the Eagles Nest chalet ( which he rarely visited ) Hitler’s Tea House when it was really a much smaller building located here.

In 1944, the Tea House was chosen by the British military for an assassination attempt on Hitler called Operation Foxley.  They had considered bombing his train and poisoning his tea but settled on using a sniper during Hitler’s morning walk to the Tea House.  The route of the stroll and insight that Hitler preferred not to be closely followed by his guards was revealed by a former person guard captured in the invasion of Normandy.  Although approved, ultimately the British canceled the sniper plan believing the war would soon be over and they didn’t want to make Hitler a Nazi martyr.  The last time Hitler would make his morning walk was on 14 July 1944 before heading to the Eastern Front.  There had been dozens of close assassination attempts on Hitler going back to 1921 by both internal and external forces.  The most famous was called Operation Valkyrie on July 20th, 1944 at the Wolf’s Lair ( Wolfsschanze ) on the Eastern Front in Poland where a briefcase bomb was set off in a high-level meeting.

The Tea House building was spared by British bombing in 1945 but was destroyed in 1952 along with other Nazi buildings in Obersalzberg for their association with Hitler.  The shell and rubble of the building weren’t cleared out until 2006, but the terrace and park bench 100 feet in front former Teehaus still offers excellent views.  In Hitler’s day, what is now the golf course’s 13th hole below the Teehaus was once a meadow for the Nazi Estate Farm ( Gutshof ).  Make sure to walk along the path curving around the golf course and do not walk directly across the fairways as it is private property and an active golf course.

8. Third Reich Officer Hill :

About Officer Hill :  The hilltop overlooking Hitler’s Berghof was mostly undeveloped on the surface, but was an essential part of the Nazi’s Obersalzberg zone.  In addition to having the area’s  most extensive network of underground bunkers , the hill was also home to two of Hitler’s Third Reich cabinet ministers who were among the most powerful people in the Nazi Party.  Across the street from the Turk’s Hotel was the home of Nazi engineer Martin Bormann and further up the hill was a chalet for Reich Marshal Hermann Göring.

Martin Bormann quickly moved up the ranks of the Nazi military to serve as both Hitler’s personal secretary and a Third Reich cabinet minister.  He was in the inner circle very early as Hitler’s right-hand man  with Adolf even serving as a witness in Bormann’s 1929 wedding.  After overseeing the expansion of Hitler’s Berghof, Bormann became responsible for the rest of the development in Obersalzberg and became the Nazi’s moneyman.  In Obersalzberg Bormann built the SS Barracks, Eagles Nest Mountain Road, Estate Farm ( Gutshof ), bunkers, and the Greenhouse ( Gewächshaus ) which was important as Hitler was a vegetarian.

Being in charge of the Nazi’s money, Bormann helped make Hitler a millionaire through book sales and image royalties from stamps.  In exchange for his service, was given the home of local Doctor Seitz on the hill across the road from Turk’s Hotel with a clear sight of Berghof below.  Under the underground Bormann had a massive maze of a private bunker with an air raid shelter and underground military communications center.  He gained so much power that while Hitler focused on the Eastern Front, Bormann became in charge of all domestic policy .

In the closing days of the war, Bormann was a witness for the marriage of Eva Bran and Adolf Hitler in Berlin’s Führerbunker just 40 hours before the newlyweds killed themselves.  During this time in Berlin Bormann’s wife and 9 children remained in Obersalzburg.  Bormann was willed Hitler’s estate, was named the minister of the Nazi Party, and famously went missing inspiring a multi-decade manhunt.

Unlike his close associates Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels ( Minister of Propaganda ), and Heinrich Himmler ( architect of the Holocaust ) chose to kill themselves at the end of the war, Bormann attempted to escape under cover of nightfall in civilian clothes right before Berlin fell.  Although he wasn’t there in person, Bormann was sentenced to death with his high ranking colleagues in late-1945 at the Nuremberg Trials.  Finally, in 1972 two skeletons were found during construction near the Weidendammer Bridge at Lehrter Station ( 1871-1951, now Hauptbahnho f) in Berlin.  The bones matched with both medical records, medical records, and in 1998 DNA confirmed it was indeed Bormann died of self-induced cyanide during his escape attempt.

Unlike most of the buildings which were seized by the Nazis, Hermann Göring’s home ( Göringhügl ) was built brand new as a gift from the Third Reich in 1933.  Göring was a decorated WW1 veteran, served under the famous Red Barron, was shot in the groin during Munich’s failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923,  founded the Gestapo secret police in 1933, and in 1940 ordered the bombing of British civilians in what became known as The Blitz.  The Blitz was also the campaign that forced France to surrender to Germany.  Göring dispised Bormann as he had always seen himself as Hitler’s successor, but had to go along with it.

One passion that had Göring and Bormann agreed upon was getting rid of the Jewish people from the territories they were conquered in the war.  They served as go-betweens so Hitler could keep his hands clean of the mass murder and concentration camps which were in full swing by 1942.  The men were at the heart of the Nazi terror machine and Göring benefited by collecting treasure troves of artwork.  In the closing days of the war, Göring tried to hide much of his pirated art collection in a bunker tunnel behind the Berchtesgaden train station.  Göring and his family were at Obersalzburg when it was bombed on April 25th, 1945 and survived in his bunker.  He was the highest-ranking defendant during the Nuremberg Trials of late-1945 and was sentenced to hang, but killed himself with cyanide before his pending execution.

Sitting in between Göring’s house and the Greenhouse was Göring’s Hill ( Göringhügl ).  This hill was the tallest point in Obersalzberg and below the ground were the extensive private bunkers for Bormann and Goring along with a military communications center.  This was the spot that the US Army 3rd Infantry Division raised their flag on May 5th, 1945 similarly to how troop had raised the flag in Iwo Jima that February.

When the fancy Intercontinental Hotel ( now Kempinski Hotel ) was built over the bunkers in 2002 there was pushback on the hotel’s location and bulldozing of the top of the hill were in bad taste.  Because of this, the hotel was nicknamed the Hitler Hilton .  In 2008 on the 63rd anniversary of the planting of the US flag here a ceremony took place with 3 vets who were there to replant a flag and add a plaque honoring along with the mayor of Berchtesgaden.

9. Summer Luge Slide ( Sommerrodelbahn ):

About The Sommerrdelbann Luge :  Family fun awaits at Sommerrodelbahn’s 2,000-foot-long metal Luge which speeds down the mountain.  After whizzing down the hill the track automatically shuttles you back up to the top for more fun. It is probably impossible to only to one trip on the Luge as it is so fun you’ll want to do it at least 2 or 3 times.  The Maltan Family that runs the Luge also runs a beautiful hotel and beer garden nearby if you are looking for Berchtesgaden accommodations.  In addition to a great location, the rooms are some of best priced in town.

Getting To The Luge By Bus :  The easiest way to get here since you are already up the hill is to take Bus 838 directly to the Sonneck stop which is right outside the Luge.   Getting To The Luge By Alpine Lift :  There is also a convenient Alpine lift that goes right from Berchtesgaden up to the Luge.  The lift is probably the easiest way to get back down to Old Town from the slide.   Slide Hours :  April through early-November 10am-6pm; Closed when wet; also closed in Winter.   Ride Cost :  1 ride is 2.50€ for Adults or 2€ for kids.  Discounts for multiple rides with 18€ for Adult rides 10 as an example.   Combo Ticket :  You can buy 3 rides plus round trip on the cable car up the mountain for 13€.   Website :   Here .

10. Former SS Guardhouse :

About The SS Guardhouse :  Riding the cable down the from the Summer slide luge you’ll cross the river and be dropped off right next to one of Berchtesgaden’s form SS Guardhouses.  The small hut was built in 1937 at the intersection of the riverfront road between Salzburg and the Berchtesgaden train station with the drive up to Obersalzberg.  The build date can be seen on the front of the guardhouse which also once had a carving of the Third Reich’s eagle symbol.  This hut was the first of three guardhouses on the route of the Hitler’s Berghof and is the last one still standing.

11. Berchtesgaden Train Station ( Bahnhof ):

About The Train Station :  Much of Hitler’s success as a leader was based on portraying a particular type of grandiose image, which can also be seen at Berchtesgaden’s train station.  Berchtesgaden’s small train station was greatly expanded in 1937.  For comparison sake, the new station was even bigger than the train station in Athens Greece at the time.

The Western wing was an expanded post office called the Berchtesgaden Postamt.  You can still see a huge mosaic on the corner of the exterior of a victorious man holding a wreath flag and shield with the crest of Berchtesgaden.  During the occupation, the inside of the wreath had the Nazi blood flag and swastika which was quickly changed in mid-1945.  Today the former post office is home to a Burger King and a popular Burger King-run hostel which we have stayed at.

The sizeable Eastern wing of the train station was built as a Nazi reception hall to impress important guests arriving in town.  The reception hall was filled with beautiful furniture and art taken from galleries in Vienna.  It’s said that Hitler and his driver would pick special guests up here in his convertible car.  Today the interior of the train station has Berchtesgaden-themed murals from the 1950s that have replaced similar ones from the Nazi era.

On the Eastern end of the station, the tracks start to lead north and hit a large tunnel constructed in 1940.  This line was going to connect Berchtesgaden directly to Salzburg, but the line was never completed.  The side of the tunnel’s entrance bears its date and it once also had Nazi symbols.

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Disclaimer: Information on this page and in our walking tours were deemed accurate when published, however, details such as opening hours, rates, transportation, visa requirements, and safety can change without notice. Please check with any destinations directly before traveling.

Virtual bunker recreates Nazi nerve centre

What is now a forgotten side street in central berlin was once the site of adolf hitler's bombastic new chancellery, the nerve….

What is now a forgotten side street in central Berlin was once the site of Adolf Hitler's bombastic new chancellery, the nerve centre of Nazi Germany and home to the infamous bunker where the dictator killed himself.

Wartime bombing and postwar planning wiped almost all architectural traces of Nazi Berlin from the cityscape. The few surviving examples of the regime's solid-sinister building style are the finance ministry, once Hermann Göring's aviation ministry, and Tempelhof airport, the facade of which still sports a few haughty Reich eagles.

Now German documentary-maker Christoph Neubauer has gathered all available archive material from the era - photographs, film footage and architectural plans - to recreate in virtual form Nazi Berlin in all its insufferable, fascinating pomp.

The research work was a surprising challenge: despite Nazi architecture's deliberate showiness and pathological need to overwhelm its beholder, Nazi authorities carefully controlled images of the interior of their buildings. For instance, only about a dozen images exist of the new chancellery's inner courtyard.

Despite the sometimes limited material, Neubauer has managed to make computer-generated recreations of the Wilhelmplatz, once Berlin's best address and the heart of the diplomatic mile, the new chancellery and the bunker beneath, all of which exist only in memory.

Viewers experience in three dimensions the architectural achievements of Hitler's in-house architect Albert Speer, as well as his architectural conceits, such as the long march visitors had to endure before reaching Hitler's office.

"The long journey from the foyer to the reception hall will surely demonstrate something of the greatness and the power of the German Reich," wrote Speer at the time.

The simulations also expose Speer's slavish devotion to Hitler's needs at the expense of others. While the dictator's chambers are lavish and roomy, the offices of ordinary worker bees are bleak, many without daylight. The layout of the buildings also reflects this blindness: getting from the top floor of one wing to the top floor of another required a laborious trek down to the basement.

Neubauer's film, Hitler's Bunker, explodes another enduring myth, propagated in films such as the recent Downfall, that the underground lair of Hitler's inner circle was a sweaty, claustrophobic prison.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of false representations that are floating around out there," said Neubauer to Spiegel Online. As his recreation shows, the bunker ceilings were not low, and the walls were plastered and painted, not bare brick.

Unsurprisingly, his pristine recreations of the unholiest sites in German history have attracted their share of controversy. Critics have accused him of making propaganda films for the neo-Nazi party, the NPD.

Neubauer rejects the claim and, to his credit, the narration accompanying the virtual tours provides the viewer with the necessary context for the impressive pictures.

Already Neubauer is planning the next stage of his project: employees at his production company are working to generate a version of the simulations for the online platform, Second Life. Soon you will be able to revisit the belly of the Nazi beast from the comfort of your own home.

 DVDs are available online and a video trailer can be viewed at www.der-fuehrerbunker.de/demos-e.htm

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L.A. City Council refuses police dog donation over training firm’s name, shared with Hitler’s bunker

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The Los Angeles City Council has declined a donation for two police dogs after one city leader raised concerns that the canines were trained by a company that shares its name with a Nazi military hideout used by Adolf Hitler.

City Councilman Bob Blumenfield said he didn’t have an issue with the dogs, which were paid for with a nearly $27,000 donation by the Los Angeles Police Foundation, a nonprofit independent group that has long bankrolled equipment for the LAPD and offered other support the department. Blumenfield said his main concern was that the Riverside County company that supplied the animals, Adlerhorst International, shares “the name of the Nazi bunker used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.’’

“This company is a company that is glorifying Hitler’s bunker, and it’s a company that is dealing with German shepherds, of which there’s all that history with the Holocaust,’’ Blumenfield said. “I don’t know that’s the intent of this company, but in reality it’s a creepy name that shouldn’t really be associated with a company like this. They’ve had plenty of time to deal with it, and I can’t support doing business with a company that’s glorifying Hitler’s bunker.”

Jurors award $11.5 million to former LAPD K-9 handler who claimed discrimination over Samoan heritage

The officer, Mark Sauvao, said he was retaliated and discriminated against after reporting that colleagues had called him names and spread false rumors about him.

March 28, 2024

Nestled in the Bavarian Alps, Adlerhorst, which means “Eagle’s Nest’’ in German, was a bunker complex built to hide Hitler during World War II. The location also served as the Nazi leader’s command post in December 1944 and January 1945.

Adlerhorst’s president, Michael Reaver, said he didn’t understand the council’s decision and had no intention of changing the company’s name.

“We have no affiliation with any Nazi anything, we’re just like everyone else, we look back at the Nazis and we consider that to be a horrible period of mankind,” Reaver said in a phone interview Tuesday.

After searching online, Reaver said, he found that there are “about a thousand” cafes, sandwich shops and streets bearing the Adlerhorst name in Germany today.

“In Germany, it’s not a name that is associated with the Nazi Party whatsoever,” he said.

Blumenfield, who represents the west San Fernando Valley, said he could find no other meaning beyond the Hitler reference. After Blumenfield voiced his misgivings at the council meeting Tuesday, the K-9 donation issue was sent back to the public safety committee for further discussion.

Activists and community members have raised questions about Adlerhorst in recent months at meetings of the Board of Police Commissioners, citing both the problematic name and the violent history of police dogs being used against Americans of color.

Jason Reedy, an organizer with the activist group People’s City Council and a regular at the public meetings, said “it goes beyond the name — the name is deplorable enough, but it goes back to the history of the ways that dogs have been used,” such as police unleashing dogs on civil rights protesters and against U.S. prisoners in Iraq.

Reedy said he hopes the controversy prompts a “deeper dive” into donations made by the Police Foundation.

Some have pointed to a 2021 Vice story about Adlerhorst that reported Reaver, a pioneering police K-9 trainer, had been sued dozens of times related to alleged injuries caused by the dogs that come from his facility, one of the nation’s largest.

Reaver called the article “biased” when asked about it this week.

In March, the commission, a five-member civilian panel that oversees the LAPD, approved a transmittal for the acceptance of two dogs for Metropolitan Division’s K-9 Platoon to replace a pair of dogs who officials said have been retired due to age and health concerns.

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When reached Tuesday, the commission would not comment on criticism of Adlerhorst, but a spokesperson for the panel said it would help the public safety committee “to the best of our ability.”

“We’ll assist in whatever way we can with the process,” said the spokesperson, Sarah Bell.

According to a series of purchase orders released on the city’s online records portal, the company has sold at least 14 dogs to the LAPD since October 2021. The Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reaver said the company name comes from a German kennel where his father bought a dog, Cora, in the 1960s. His father, a former electrician and Air Force veteran who was once stationed in Germany, started breeding sporting dogs and then began working with law enforcement. The elder Reaver launched the business in 1976, and his son said they buy most of their dogs from breeders in Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“He had zero idea about any correlation between any German names and any Nazi party,” Reaver said of his father. “No History Channel, no Wikipedia information back then, it just wasn’t at your fingertips that it was named after a compound that Nazis made or somebody had made and Hitler used it once.”

Adlerhorst, Reaver added, is “the name of a bloodline. In Germany, breeders of German shepherds historically would have a kennel name, a bloodline name, so if you buy a dog named Luke the dog’s full name would be ‘Luke from Adlerhorst.’”

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“If Adlerhorst was considered with something associated with the Nazi Party, that name would not exist in modern-day Germany at all,” he said.

Adlerhorst has worked with hundreds of police forces nationwide. Reaver said the kennel was responsible for Cairo, the 70-pound Belgian Malinois that accompanied the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Reaver questioned why his company’s German name was singled out for backlash.

“No one’s looking to shut down the Porsche. Hugo Boss, he’s the one who made the uniforms for the SS, the real Hugo Boss. Volkswagen and all that, they all contributed to the war efforts of the Nazis,” he said.

Times staff writer David Zahniser and City News Service contributed to this report.

More to Read

Van Nuys woman who lost arm in dog attack gets $7.5 million from city of L.A.

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Libor Jany covers the Los Angeles Police Department. Before joining the Los Angeles Times in 2022, he covered public safety for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. A St. Paul, Minn., native, Jany studied communications at Mississippi State University.

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Adolf Hitler, Jesse Owens and Berlin’s Olympiastadion: the complicated history of Euro 2024 final venue

Follow live coverage of Romania vs Ukraine , Belgium vs Slovakia and Austria vs France at Euro 2024 today

The showpiece final of this summer’s European Championship , likely to attract a worldwide television audience in excess of 300 million people, will be played on July 14 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin — a stadium originally built and funded on the orders of Europe’s most notorious dictator, Adolf Hitler.

Eighty-eight years have passed since the 1936 summer Olympic Games were also staged there, three years after Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, became the country’s chancellor and ruler.

These days, it’s a 74,000-seat stadium with a sleek, modern roof, but the setting stands as a testament to a blood-soaked history.

Over the next month, three group games, starting with Spain against Croatia on Saturday, will be played there, as well as a round of 16 match, a quarter-final and then the final itself. The hundreds of thousands of football supporters who descend on the Olympiastadion will be confronted by many of the features that distinguished this venue as a Nazi shrine almost a century ago.

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Since 1945, Germany has grappled with its history in a thoughtful way.

Being Germany, there is a word for it: vergangenheitsaufarbeitung, which translates to mean ‘working from the past.’

Hitler’s bunker in Berlin was filled in with concrete to avoid it becoming a commemoration site, and the Spandau prison, where his deputy Rudolf Hess committed suicide, was destroyed. German children are taught in schools about Nazi atrocities and those training to become police officers are taught the history of the Holocaust and taken to the sites of former concentration camps to understand the gravity. The vast Holocaust memorial is located at the heart of a reunified Berlin.

The Olympiastadion, however, is a listed building, preserved since 1966, albeit its history is vividly detailed by tour guides and via a small museum.

With its oval shape, austere colonnades and soaring terraces, the stadium was designed as a stark statement of German might at a time of rising global tensions in the 1930s. Partially below ground level, it was intentionally constructed to evoke comparisons with the Colosseum in Rome.

To wander around the stadium, as The Athletic did earlier this year, is to witness many of the hallmarks familiar to Olympia, the infamous Leni Riefenstahl propaganda film ordered by the Nazi high command, about those 1936 Olympics .

On a cold, wintery, grey day, the eeriness is all-consuming; swathes of vast space and haunting relics. The colonnades remain intact, so too the Olympic cauldron, located just inside the Marathon Gate, with that cold, ageless, durable design that is in keeping with the architecture of the Third Reich.

The Nazi swastikas have long since been torn down, but nothing quite prepares you for the chilling moment an Olympiastadion tour guide points to a balcony and explains that you are metres away from where Hitler once took pride of place, receiving ‘Heil’ salutes from crowds and athletes alike.

Dotted around the stadium are bronze statues, venerating the perceived power and splendour of the Aryan race. Its own website explains that construction companies were ordered to hire only “complying, non-union workers of German citizenship and Aryan race” to build this edifice of Nazism, meaning Jews in particular were not to be involved.

The Olympiastadion, therefore, will always be a museum in itself but over time, events have shaped a profound and complicated history.

At those 1936 Games, for example, Jesse Owens, an African-American athlete, won four gold medals in front of Hitler, producing arguably the most iconic Olympic performance of all time. In the aftermath of the Second World War, when Germany was divided into West and East, much of the wider Olympic Park was occupied by British forces between 1945 and 1994, using the grounds at times for polo events, and sometimes for parades to honour the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

This summer’s European Championship will not be its first major international football tournament, having hosted five matches during the 1974 World Cup, and six, including the final, of the 2006 World Cup, a match which is most famous for French superstar Zinedine Zidane headbutting Italian opponent Marco Materazzi.

In 2015, it hosted the Champions League final, where Lionel Messi ’s Barcelona defeated Juventus , while the stadium has also been the home venue of current 2. Bundesliga (the German second division) side Hertha Berlin since 1965 and staged the German Cup final every year since 1985.

American football’s NFL also played a pre-season game here every year between 1990 and 1994, and Usain Bolt delivered the most extraordinary track-and-field athletics feat since Owens, when, at the World Championship in 2009, he recorded two world records — 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200m. Both records endure to this day.

The venue is now a destination for major music stars too; having hosted The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Madonna since 1990.

The Olympiastadion will mean many things to many people, sometimes at the same time.

Martin Glass is a director at GMP Berlin, and one of the architects behind the renovations of the stadium, including the roof, at the turn of the 20th century.

In his office, he tells The Athletic : “The stadium is very deeply rooted in the common consciousness and biography of most Berliners. The history started way back in 1912. There was another stadium there before the Olympiastadion, built with the idea of hosting the Olympic Games in 1916, which didn’t take place due to the First World War.

“When the National Socialists took power, they thought that it’s not appropriate to just renovate a stadium from the Emperor’s time, they wanted to represent the so-called Third Reich in what they thought would be an appropriate way. So they decided to do a new stadium and the 1936 Olympics was very much a propaganda event to sell the National Socialist regime with a friendly face to the global public.”

Jules Boykoff teaches political science at Pacific University in the U.S. state of Oregon. He is the author of six books on the Games, most recently publishing What Are The Olympics For? earlier this year ahead of the 2024 edition in Paris, France.

He says: “Stadiums are not just organised piles of brick and mortar — they can express national identity and exude cultural values. In the case of Berlin, they can proffer political agendas.

“When I think about 1936, the stadium was absolutely crucial to the messaging. At first, Hitler wasn’t very keen on the prospect of hosting an Olympics. If you’ve read Mein Kampf — I actually did, cover to cover, and it is not a pleasant experience — he doesn’t really mention sports, outside of boxing. He really wasn’t into the Olympics but he was convinced by his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, that it was a not-to-be-missed opportunity.

“The architecture of the stadium very much fits into that opportunistic mode that Hitler ultimately shifted into. It’s got that neoclassical kind of design, massive amounts of reinforced concrete, a limestone that they used at first on the facade, all those pillars.

“When you look at the photographs of the 1936 Olympics, what’s so striking is the ubiquity of the Nazi swastika. It was flying over the stadium. It was draped all around Berlin, often right next to the Olympic flag — the iconic five rings. So there’s no question that the 1936 Olympics were fully entangled in propaganda for Hitler. They even invented the Olympics torch relay to help spread the word of Aryan supremacy.”

Hitler’s initial scepticism of the Olympics was based upon his aversion to the founding principles of the competition, with the ideals of internationalism and inclusivity countering his world-view. The Nazi newspaper Volkischer Beobachter said that allowing Black athletes to compete “is a disgrace and a degradation of the Olympic idea without parallel”.

At first, Hitler described the Olympic movement as a conspiracy of Jews and Freemasons. Yet Goebbels, aware this would be the first televised Olympics, sensed an opportunity. Albert Speer, a Hitler confidant and an architect, came up with the idea to clad the stadium in limestone, symbolising the permanence of a Thousand Year Reich. The Nazis then cast their preferred Aryan race as the natural heirs to the Ancient Greeks, even beginning the Olympic torch’s journey with Germany in the village of Hellendorf, whose name derived from the Greek name for Greece — Hellas.

By 1936, the Nazi vilification of Germany’s Jewish population was long since underway — most notably via the introduction of the Nuremberg Laws the previous year, which stripped Jews of full citizenship and their political rights — as well as attacks on Jewish businesses, their exclusion from public employment and the denial of access to hospitals.

Yet during the Games that summer, the Nazis engaged in what would now be described as “sportswashing” (the use of sport as a means to deflect from significant human rights abuses) and sought to charm the world with a full-throttled display of Olympic pageantry. In podcast The Rest Is History, historian Dominic Sandbrook tells how the Nazis kept a Jewish fencer, Helene Mayer, on the German team “and used her as evidence that they were much kinder and cuddlier than their foreign critics allowed”.

He added: “They banned the publication of Der Sturmer (during the Olympics) —   the Nazi newspapers were kept off the streets of Berlin. They do all this manicuring of the regime. Banned authors reappear.

“There are some really fascinating books written about the 1936 Games, talking about all the American and British visitors who arrived and were completely taken in. They pitched up and they said Nazis aren’t as bad as they appear and how the nightlife and the nightclubs were great.

“(But) Just outside the city, people are already political prisoners and they are building the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Germany had just remilitarised the Rhineland. So Hitler’s intentions are clear. There’s no doubt about the nature of the regime.”

Arthur J Daley, a sportswriter for The New York Times, had covered discussions about a possible boycott in the lead-up to the 1936 Games, due to antisemitism, but described the Olympics at the end of the calendar year 1936 as “ perfect in setting, brilliant in presentation and unparalleled in performance ”, saying they stood apart in history as “the greatest sports event of all time”. He added: “The mere presence of Herr Hitler was enough to give any Reich athlete inspirational wings to do things he never had even dreamed of doing before.”

The Nazis spared no expense in impressing visitors. The athletes’ Olympic Village had living rooms, restaurants, theatres and separate rooms with television screenings. A Finnish sauna was installed, an artificial lake created, and they even borrowed birds from Berlin Zoo.

Athletes representing Germany won more medals than any other nation in 1936 but the sporting story of those Games, and to this day the most powerful achievement in the stadium, belonged to Owens, who won four gold medals — the 100m and 200m, long jump and, with his American team-mates, the 4 x 100m relay. The common story is that Hitler was so appalled that he declined to shake the hand of Owens, and our tour guide at the stadium quips that “Hitler would rather have chopped his arm off than shake hands with a Black man”.

Yet several historical accounts say that Hitler had stopped shaking hands with all the Games’ champions after the first day, after being asked by the International Olympic Committee to shake hands with everybody, rather than only German winners, or to shake hands with nobody at all. U.S. journalist Daley, present on the day Owens won the 100m, reported that Hitler did not congratulate any of the Black American winners that day but did find time for German hammer throwers.

At certain times, the crowd even chanted Owens’ name. His daughter Beverley told a documentary, The 1936 Nazi Olympic Games , how surprised her father had been to arrive in Germany and discover equal treatment, even if it was performative by the Nazis.

She said: “When they first arrived, they wanted to know where their rooms were, because they thought that they were going to be placed in a different place than the white (members of the American) team. That’s a heck of a thing, when at home it was not like that. And they all ate together. It wasn’t the white boys here, the Black boys there. It was a team, because they were the U.S. Olympic team and that’s what they functioned as.”

Hitler, however, was particularly displeased when Owens defeated Germany’s Luz Long in a dramatic long jump. Beverley Owens added: “Hitler lost face, because he felt that his Olympic team was going to just trounce all over everyone. And that’s why he left the stadium.”

Boykoff says: “It was fascinating to me in researching Owens that everyday Berliners were fascinated by him and wanted to be around him. The Nazis sent a security force to surveil Owens everywhere he went, in order to make sure there was no untoward interaction between Aryan Germans and this African-American man from the United States.

“They were surveilling every German who was getting anywhere close to Owens. The Nazis and those running the Olympics intercepted numerous letters that were intended for not only Jesse Owens, but other athletes too, from people who were trying to raise their awareness about the Nazi atrocities that were already underway against Jewish folks and Roma people and others.”

David Goldblatt, who has written a history of the Olympics entitled The Games, explains the challenges Owens encountered back in the United States, where he had already experienced segregation at Ohio State University, where he was not permitted to live on campus.

Goldblatt recounted on the History Extra Podcast how the events were received in the U.S.: “Owens is celebrated wildly in the Black press in the United States because the press is very segregated in those days. And in the north of the United States, it is considered a great sporting achievement. But there is not a single picture of him in a newspaper published in the South. It’s being completely ignored. It is only really in the post-World War Two era and during that war, when the United States needs to fashion its anti-fascist credentials, that this story takes on such a massive place in the historical record.

“Owens’ athletic achievement is not a myth. And there is no doubt we know from the private papers of Goebbels, for example, that they were deeply rankled by this. They referred to Owens as one of America’s ‘coloured auxiliaries’. If you’ve got a racial hierarchy of the world, it’s going to disturb that profoundly. But in international terms, in either highlighting Jim Crow laws in the United States, or the plight of African-American athletes in U.S. sports culture, or understanding it as a defeat for the racist ideology of the Nazis, that is all manufactured much later down the line.”

Reporting on Owens’ success, Daley, writing in The New York Times, noted: “German nationalism and the prejudice that seems to go with it revealed themselves somewhat disagreeably.”

Boykoff adds: “He (Owens) returns to the United States and he is disappointed by the reception he got from President (Franklin D) Roosevelt at that time. And he says publicly a number of things against Roosevelt. He represented the United States, and he represented them about as well as he possibly could have. And then he comes home and he’s still living in a heavily racist society where he’s seeing discrimination and being discriminated against on a regular basis.”

Today, a street in close proximity to the Olympiastadion is named after Owens, there is the small museum in the Olympic Park and full English-language tours are provided that detail the brutal reality of Germany’s history.

In the aftermath of those 1936 Olympics, the stadium — called “Reichssportfeld” (Reich Sports Field) by the Nazis — acted as a ground for sports training for the paramilitary, and a venue for sports activities for the Hitler Youth. A thick concrete ceiling had been built into the stadium tunnel to provide bunkers ahead of the Second World War, while weapons were also produced, and an administration building served as an ammunition depot. It even became a headquarters for Nazi Germany’s national radio network in the final months of the war.

Curiously, no bombs landed on the stadium during the Allied bombings of Germany. Our tour guide theorises that bomber pilots may have used it as a landmark to find their bearings, knowing that the actual city of Berlin was 15km (just under 10 miles) to the east.

Following the Second World War, this potential shrine to Nazi Germany presented a challenge. Its infrastructure was so vast and useful that it never seemed probable that it would be destroyed on ethical grounds alone. The Russian Red Army briefly formed a garrison there and after the Soviet withdrawal, the British moved in for several decades. The Olympic Park’s swimming pool was opened to the public and the stadium itself, if not the park, returned to the Berlin senate by 1949, who changed the name to Olympiastadion.

The stadium’s website details how the British set about de-Nazifying various elements of it, reducing the height of Hitler’s honorary stand, removing swastikas and narrowing the size of the balcony that had once been his viewing point. In 1966, it was designated as a listed building, meaning its status is preserved.

As time passed, the stadium began to take on new meanings.

Architect Glass says: “It still had this 1936 National Socialist Olympic image. But on the other hand, they built a youth hostel right into the stadium, after the war, so in the 1950s until the 1970s, it was very common for Western Germans to do a class trip, with their history teacher, to Berlin. And that would have been one of the spaces where we spent the night, overlooking the field. Then there were Berlin events like a police show — where the police showed off to the public what they can do on motorbikes. When we did an exhibition in 2000 about the history of the place, we had so many amazing and weird photos of crazy stuff happening.

“Then it became the home to (club team) Hertha Berlin. So it plays a very important role in many people’s personal lives as having gone to their first football match with their parents. For most Berliners, it’s not so much a National Socialist heritage leftover but it’s actually something that was integrated into their personal biography one way or another.

“There was this famous concert by The Rolling Stones at Waldbuhne in 1965, an amphitheatre in the (Olympic) Park, and you can ask any (local) 75-year-old and everybody claims to have been there.”

As Germany’s international rehabilitation gathered pace, most significantly with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany the following year, Berlin made a bid to host international sporting competitions once more, most notably a failed Olympics bid for 2000, which Sydney in Australia won.

By 1998, the Germans had their eyes on the 2006 World Cup, which was secured. Otto Hoehne, president of the Berlin Soccer Association, spoke in favour of building a new stadium in Berlin, with modern hospitality boxes and all the luxuries of recently constructed stadia. The Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying: “The Roman Colosseum is nice, but you wouldn’t want to play games in it.”

In 1994, England called off a game against Germany that was supposed to take place there on April 20, which happened to be Hitler’s birthday, for fear it would attract neo-Nazis. The Professional Footballers’ Association — the players’ trade union in England — had raised concerns, while the German football headquarters had windows smashed in by activists opposed to the game taking place, who also sprayed slogans reading, ‘No match on April 20’.

Glass says: “There was not a serious discussion to demolish the Olympiastadion. It was rather, ‘Shall we use it, or shall we build a new one?’ We were pretty aware that we were entering, let’s say, shaky ground in terms of the history of the building. And in parallel, while we were building the stadium or rebuilding the stadium, we were putting a lot of pressure on the German Bundestag (parliament), together with the German Historic Museum and the Berlin Senate, to build a small museum or exhibition that deals with the political history of the whole space.”

The stadium was renovated and its roof added in time for that 2006 World Cup, at a cost of €242million (£204m/$260m at current exchange rates), and the venue was granted five-star status by both FIFA , football’s world governing body, and UEFA, its European equivalent.

Our tour guide, while showing visitors around the dressing rooms, points out that one FIFA requirement is “every changing room needs this device”, while holding an adjustable hairdryer. He smiles: “Very important for professional football players.”

Since then, we have seen Zidane’s headbutt in the final of the 2006 World Cup, and Bolt’s record-breaking feats in the 2009 World Championships — which also happened to be the same competition in which South Africa’s Caster Semenya, then only 18 years old, won the women’s 800m race, which subsequently became one of the defining talking points of the sport over the following decade due to a gender controversy.

Back to football, and Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund memorably beat Bayern Munich in the German Cup final here in 2012, while Messi and Luis Suarez , then of Barcelona, defeated Paul Pogba and Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus three years later.

The past is forever etched into history, but over the coming month, a new tapestry will be woven into Europe’s most contentious sporting venue.

(Top photos: Getty Images; design: John Bradford) (1936 | 2024 Illustration: ullstein bild via Getty Images, Inaki Esnaola/Getty Images) (Additional Photos:ullstein bild via Getty Images)

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Adam Crafton covers football for The Athletic. He previously wrote for the Daily Mail. In 2018, he was named the Young Sports Writer of the Year by the Sports' Journalist Association. His debut book,"From Guernica to Guardiola", charting the influence of Spaniards in English football, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2018. He is based in London.