WW2-Poland-2015

OKH Mauerwald
Former Supreme High Command of the German Army Field Headquarters
The Supreme High Command of the German Army (Oberkommando des Heeres) field headquarters in Mauerwald is
the biggest complex of undestroyed bunkers from the times of World War II. Some of the preserved air-raid shelters
are as high as 9 metres, which makes them a unique example of fortifications of that era. One of the bunker types to
be seen here was designed by Adolf Hitler himself.
Beside the “Wolf's Lair”, the field headquarters at Mauerwald was one of the seats of the political and military
leadership of the III Reich built in East Prussia for the purpose of leading a war against the Soviet Union (Operation
“Barbarossa”).
The building began in autumn of 1940 and lasted till late May/early June 1941. However, further developments
connected with the war lasting much longer than expected would go on until the end of 1944.
The 250 hectares (ca. 620 acres) of mixed forest hide over 200 buildings of different types – from wooden and brick
to concrete bunkers with 2 to 7-metre thick walls and ceilings.
The headquarters was divided into three security zones: “Quelle”, “Fritz” and “Brigitten Stadt.” “Quelle” – “Source”
was the seat of the the Quartermaster's Department of the army. “Fritz” – “Frederick” was devoted to the structures
of the High Command of the German Army. “Brigitten Stadt” – “Bridget Town” was occupied by auxiliary services
(mostly staff support and communication). The communication centre for the headquarters was located here.
From among the hundreds of officers and generals of the General Staff who lived here and planned the operations
against the Soviet Union, two names stand out. These are colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and field marshal Friedrich
Paulus, the commander of the 6th Army defeated at Stalingrad.
Why it was built
Since the beginning of World War II till mid-1941, the German army conquered Poland, France, Belgium, Holland,
Luxembourg, Norway, Greece and Yugoslavia... Rommel's “Afrika Korps” fought successfully in Africa. Together with
its allies, Germany controlled nearly all of Europe. England, although weakened, was the only one to resist. The only
dangerous enemy was the Soviet Union, preparing a war on Germany.
In the summer of 1940 Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union and ordered his General Staff to draft a plan of a
lightning-fast conquest code-named “Operation Barbarossa.”
In order to direct the campaign effectively, it was decided that a network of temporary seats of military and political
leadership be set up near the border with the Soviet Union. East Prussia was chosen.
Mauerwald came to be the field headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the German Army and the
Quartermaster's Department of the army. The General Staff was responsible for drawing up plans and coordinating
the activity of the armed forces in the east. By contrast, its subordinate bodies responsible for intelligence, personnel
affairs, transport etc., including the Quartermaster's Department, supervised over all the theatres of war.
Description
The construction began in autumn of 1940. Just as in the case of the “Wolf's Lair”, the building works were carried out
under the pretext of building an “Askania” chemical plant. And just as there, Organisation Todt and private firms would
take care of the construction. The headquarters was ready for use in May 1941. The various sections of the staff moved
in with the onset of the war against the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941.
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