WW2-Poland-2015

The decision to build the Wolf's Lair was made in the autumn of 1940. Built in the middle of a forest, it was located far
from major roads and urban areas. The 6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi) complex, which was completed by 21 June 1941, consisted
of three concentric security zones.[4] About two thousand people lived and worked at the Wolf's Lair at its peak,
among them twenty women;[4] some of whom were required to eat Hitler's food to test for poison.[5] The installations
were served by a nearby airfield and railway lines. Buildings within the complex were camouflaged with bushes, grass
and artificial trees planted on the flat roofs; netting was also erected between buildings and the surrounding forest so
from the air, the installation looked like unbroken dense woodland.[4]
• Sperrkreis 1 (Security Zone 1) was located at the heart of the Wolf's Lair. Ringed by steel fencing and guarded by
theReichssicherheitsdienst (RSD), it contained the Führer Bunker and ten other camouflaged bunkers built from 2
metres (6 ft 7 in) thicksteel-reinforced concrete. These shelters protected members of Hitler's inner circle such
as Martin Bormann, Hermann Göring,Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl. Hitler's accommodation was on the northern
side of Führer Bunker so as to avoid direct sunlight. Both Hitler's and Keitel's bunkers had additional rooms where
military conferences could be held.[1]
• Sperrkreis 2 (Security Zone 2) surrounded the inner zone. This area housed the quarters of several Reich Ministers
such as Fritz Todt, Albert Speer, and Joachim von Ribbentrop. It also housed the quarters of the personnel who
worked in the Wolf's Lair and the military barracks for the RSD.
• Sperrkreis 3 (Security Zone 3) was the heavily fortified outer security area which surrounded the two inner zones.
It was defended byland mines and the Führer Begleit Brigade (FBB), a special armoured security unit
from Wehrmacht which manned guard houses, watchtowers and checkpoints.
A facility for Army headquarters was also located near the Wolf's lair complex.[1]
Although the RSD had overall responsibility for Hitler's personal security, external protection of the complex was
provided by the FBB, which had become a regiment by July 1944. The FBB was equipped with tanks, anti-aircraft guns
and other heavy weapons. Any approaching aircraft could be detected up to 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the Wolf's
Lair. Additional troops were also stationed about 75 kilometres (47 mi) away.[4]
Reinforcements
Hitler meeting Reich CommissionerRobert Ley, automotive engineerFerdinand Porsche and ReichsministerHermann
Göring at the Wolfschanze in 1942.
Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries, recalled that in late 1943 or early 1944, Hitler spoke repeatedly of the
possibility of a devastating bomber attack on the Wolfsschanze by the Western Allies. She quoted Hitler as saying,
"They know exactly where we are, and sometime they’re going to destroy everything here with carefully aimed bombs.
I expect them to attack any day." [6]
When Hitler’s entourage returned to the Wolfsschanze from an extended summer stay at the Berghof in July 1944,
the previous small bunkers had been replaced by the Organisation Todt with "heavy, colossal structures" of reinforced
concrete as defense against the feared air attack.[7] According to Armaments Minister Albert Speer, "some 36,000,000
marks were spent for bunkers in Rastenburg [Wolf's Lair]." [8] Hitler’s bunker had become the largest, "a positive
fortress" containing "a maze of passages, rooms and halls." Junge wrote that, in the period between the July 20
assassination attempt and Hitler's final departure from the Wolfsschanze in November 1944, "We had air-raid
warnings every day [...] but there was never more than a single aircraft circling over the forest, and no bombs were
dropped. All the same, Hitler took the danger very seriously, and thought all these reconnaissance flights were in
preparation for the big raid he was expecting."[9]
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