WW2-Poland-2015

The Plot of 20 July
Many of the officers of the The Supreme High Command of the German Army either supported the anti-Nazi resistance
or joined it. The most notable inhabitants of the headquarters who joined the resistance were: colonel Stauffenberg,
colonel Mertz von Quirnheim and generals Hellmuth Stieff, Eduard Wagner and Erich Fellgiebel. All of them were either
killed or committed suicide.
The plotters working at Mauerwald had been preparing an attempt to kill Hitler probably as early as in 1943. General
Stieff kept explosives in his quarters. For fear of being unmasked, major Kuhn and lieutenant Hagen buried them near
the Organization Department building . In yet another place they hid documents connected with the preparations of
the assassination. When the security services in the headquarters learnt about it, the explosives were discovered but
it turned out impossible to find out who had hidden them. The documents were not found. In Spring of 1945 Russians
uncovered the documents. They knew about them from Kuhn, whom they had captured.
On the day of the attempt on Hitler, general Stieff flew from Berlin to the “Wolf's Lair” with Stauffenberg. From the
airfield near Rastenburg (today Kętrzyn), Stieff rode to Mauerwald together with Haeften – Stauffenberg's adjutant.
Haften stayed there for around an hour and then left for the “Wolf's Lair.”
Sightseeing
The Supreme High Command of the German Army field headquarters in Mauerwald is located by Lake Mamry, the
second biggest lake in Poland. To the north, the headquarters borders with the unfinished Masurian Canal. One of the
sluices nearby is the biggest object of this kind in Poland. The 29 undestroyed shelters make Mauerwald a unique
example of fortifications in Europe.
Opening hours
The site is open daily during the summer season 10 am –18 pm . Sightseeing during the winter upon prior
arrangement.
Make sure you don't miss the “Wolf's Lair” – the biggest and the most important field headquarters of Adolf Hitler and
the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.
The former SS hotel houses a hotel and a restaurant – a great base for excursions to the Masurian Lake District.
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