While taking a walking tour of Berlin, I asked my guide if we would be visiting the site of Hitler’s Bunker (aka the Fuhrerbunker), the air-raid shelter which was used by Adolf Hitler during World War II. “Yes” she replied, but added “Don’t be disappointed by what you see”. As we walked down a Berlin street, less than a kilometer away from the Brandenburg Gate, my guide pointed to a dusty parking lot just ahead of us and said “There it is. That is the site of the Fuhrerbunker.”
Although it wasn’t quite what I imagined it would be, this unremarkable parking lot sits atop a remarkable piece of history. The only indication that this area had any significance was the presence of one simple sign which was surrounded by a small group of tourists at the far corner of the parking lot.
The Fuhrerbunker sign not only described the events that took place here during the days before Hitler’s death, but also provided a clear blueprint of Hitler’s Bunker.
I couldn’t help but be amazed that the enormous bunker seen in the picture above, was located beneath the very spot I stood, as seen in the picture below.
It was at this location that Hitler took up residence in his FÜhrerbunker on 16 January 1945 and, joined by his senior staff, it became the centre of the Nazi regime until the last week of World War II. On April 29, 1945, with the defeat of the Nazis imminent, Hitler married Eva Braun in the Fuhrerbunker, and it was here, only a few hours after their wedding ceremony, that both Hitler and Braun committed suicide.
After the war this area was levelled by the Soviets. Despite some attempts at demolition, the underground Fuhrerbunker remained largely undisturbed. It wasn’t until 1988–89, during reconstruction of this area of Berlin, that sections of the old bunker complex were excavated and were for the most part destroyed. The site of the Fuhrerbunker remained unmarked until 2006, when a small sign with a schematic diagram was installed. Some corridors of the bunker still exist, but are sealed off from the public.
For further detailed information on Hitler and his bunker, click on this address:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerbunker
I am glad that there is no monument or memorial at the site. An empty dirt parking lot is more than the tyrant deserves.