Führerbunker
The Führerbunker (German pronunciation: [ˈfyːʁɐˌbʊŋkɐ] ⓘ) was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters (Führerhauptquartiere) used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.
| Führerbunker | |
|---|---|
Führer's bunker | |
July 1947 photo of the rear entrance to the Führerbunker in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. The corpses of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned in a shell hole in front of the emergency exit at left; the cone-shaped structure in the centre served for ventilation, and as a bomb shelter for the guards. | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Berlin |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Coordinates | 52.5125°N 13.3815°E |
| Construction started | 1943 |
| Completed | 23 October 1944 |
| Destroyed | 5 December 1947 |
| Cost | 1.35 million ℛ︁ℳ︁ (equivalent to €5 million in 2021) |
| Owner | Nazi Germany |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Albert Speer, Karl Piepenburg |
| Architecture firm | Hochtief AG |
Hitler took up residence in the Führerbunker on 16 January 1945, and it became the centre of the Nazi regime until the last week of World War II in Europe. Hitler married Eva Braun there on 29 April 1945, less than 40 hours before they committed suicide.
After the war, both the old and new Chancellery buildings were levelled by the Soviets. The underground complex remained largely undisturbed until 1988–89, despite some attempts at demolition. The excavated sections of the old bunker complex were mostly destroyed during reconstruction of that area of Berlin. The site remained unmarked until 2006, when a small plaque was installed with a schematic diagram. Some corridors of the bunker still exist but are sealed off from the public.