''Führer'' Headquarters

Map showing the locations of the Führer Headquarters throughout Europe

The Führer Headquarters (Führerhauptquartiere in German), abbreviated FHQ, is a common name for a number of official headquarters used by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and various German commanders and officials throughout Europe during the Second World War.[1] Perhaps the most widely known headquarters was the Führerbunker in Berlin, Germany, where Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945. Other notable headquarters are the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) in East Prussia, where Claus von Stauffenberg in league with other conspirators attempted to assassinate Hitler on 20 July 1944, and Hitler's private home, the Berghof, at Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden, where he frequently met with prominent foreign and domestic officials.

Introduction

The Berghof, Hitler's home near Berchtesgaden, became part of the Obersalzberg military complex. Other than the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia, Hitler spent more time at the Berghof than anywhere else during World War II.

At the beginning of World War II there were no permanent headquarters constructed for the German supreme leader, the Führer. Hitler visited the frontlines by using either aeroplane or his special train, the Führersonderzug; thus, the Führersonderzug can be considered as the first of his field headquarters. The first permanent installation which became a Führer Headquarters was the Felsennest, which was used by Hitler during the Battle of France in May, 1940. Hitler actually spent very little time in Berlin during the war, and the dwellings he most frequently used were the Berghof and the Wolfsschanze, spending more than 800 days at the latter.

The Führer Headquarters were especially designed to work as command facilities for the Führer, which meant all necessary demands were taken into consideration; communications, conference rooms, safety measures, bunkers, guard facilities etc. were prepared accordingly. Even Berghof and the Obersalzberg complex were modified and extended with considerable defense facilities (bunkers, guard posts etc.). The Wehrmachtbericht, a daily report on the situation at the front, was also broadcast from the Führer Headquarters.

The Fuhrerhauptquartiere programme used over one million cubic metres of concrete, more than half at Anlag Riese and Wolfschlucht II. Forced labourers worked for nearly twelve million working days; two-thirds at Anlage Riese, Wolfschlucht II and Wolfsschnase. [2]

The Führer Headquarters cannot be considered as strict military headquarters; the Wehrmacht had their own, distinctly located in other places, yet often in the vicinity of the FHQs. Nevertheless, since Hitler very frequently intervened in the military command structure, the FHQs more than often became de facto military headquarters. In reality, the Führer Headquarters consisted of Adolf Hitler and his entourage, including the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) (directly controlled by Hitler), liaison officers and adjutants.

Notes on the term

The location of the Führerbunker and Vorbunker in Berlin, 1945

Every place Hitler stayed cannot be considered as a Führer Headquarters, and he did not stay at every official FHQ. Furthermore, some sources may not refer to the Berghof and the Führerbunker strictly as official German Führerhauptquartiere at that time in history, but both of them became de facto Führer Headquarters; thus, they are historically often referred to as such. The Berghof was modified in much the same way as other FHQs,[3] and Hitler had daily conferences on military matters here at the latter part of the war.[3] The "Eagle's Nest", i.e. the Kehlsteinhaus, was rarely used and may not be considered a FHQ as such alone; however it was associated with the Berghof and part of the Obersalzberg military complex.

The Führerbunker was located about 8.5 metres (28 ft) beneath the garden of the old Reich Chancellery at Wilhelmstraße 77, and 120 metres (390 ft) north of the new Reich Chancellery building at Voßstraße 6 in Berlin.[4] It became a de facto Führer Headquarters during the Battle of Berlin, and ultimately, the last one of his headquarters.[5]

Brunhilde near Angevillers in France seen in 2011

Headquarters locations

There were about 14 known completed Führer Headquarters (of about 20 planned):[6]

Name Alternative designations Location Build started Completed Usage as Führer Headquarters
Adlerhorst[7] Mühle (OT)
Bauvorhaben Z
Lager K
Bauvorhaben C		 Bad Nauheim, Germany 1 Sep 1939 yes yes – used by Hitler during the Ardennes offensive; was too late for invasion of Poland, and Hitler told Speer it was too luxurious ... the Führer must show Spartan simplicity [8]
Anlage Mitte[7] Askania Mitte Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland 1 Dec 1940 yes no – only industry
Anlage Riese[6] none Wałbrzych (Waldenburg), Poland Oct 1943 no no
Anlage Süd[7] Askania Süd Strzyżów, Poland 1 Oct 1940 yes yes, Hitler met with Mussolini here on 27–28 August 1941[7]
Berghof[6]/"Eagle's Nest" none Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden, Germany ? yes yes – also thought by the Allies to be within a conceivable Alpenfestung "last stand" territory of the Third Reich
Bärenhöhle[9] none Smolensk, Russia; Platform of Gniesdovo station lengthened for Führersonderzug [10] 1 Oct 1941 yes no – used only by Heeresgruppe Mitte
Felsennest[11] none Rodert, Bad Münstereifel, Germany 1940 yes yes, used by Hitler during the Battle of France in May, 1940
Führerbunker[12] none Berlin, Germany 1943 yes yes, Hitler committed suicide here in 1945
Führersonderzug[1] (a special train)

"Amerika", "Brandenburg"

 various (movable) 1939? yes yes
Olga[6] none 200 km north of Minsk, Belarus 1 July 1943 no no
S III[6] Wolfsturm, Olga etc. Ohrdruf, Germany Autumn 1944 (?) no no
Siegfried[6] Hagen [13] Pullach, Germany (south of Munich) ? ? no
Tannenberg[14] none Freudenstadt/Kniebis, Germany 1 Oct 1939 yes yes (27 June – 5 July 1940)
W3 Wolfsschlucht III Saint-Rimay, 15 km west of Vendôme, France 1 May 1942 no. no. Built around a railway tunnel with armoured doors to protect the Führersonderzug, with bunkers for Hitler and for his staff at northeast entrance. Had anti-aircraft emplacements. [15]
Waldwiese[9] none Glan-Münchweiler, Germany 1 Oct 1939 yes no
Wasserburg[9] none Pskow (Pleskau), Russia 1 Nov 1942 yes no (assigned to Heeresgruppe Nord)
Werwolf[7] Eichenhain Vinnytsia, Ukraine 1 Nov 1941 yes yes; on 28 December 1943 Hitler ordered its demolition after failure of Operation Citadel [16]
Wolfsschanze[17] Askania Nord, "Wolf's Lair" Kętrzyn (Rastenburg), Poland 1 Dec 1940 yes yes, site of the failed 20 July plot on Hitler's life
Wolfsschlucht I[18] Brûly-de-Pesche near Couvin, Belgium 1 May 1940 yes yes. A further bunker planned near the Wolfspalast (formerly the village inn) was not completed.[19]
Wolfsschlucht II[7] W2, later Zucarello [20] between villages of Margival and Laffaux, France. The Führerbunker was 2 km up the track from the Margival train station.[20] 1 Sep 1942 yes yes. built around a railway tunnel with armoured doors to protect the Führersonderzug. The compound had six large bunkers; an OKW bunker was adjacent to the Führerbunker, also signals and guest bunkers and anti-aircraft emplacements. [20]
Zigeuner[6] Brunhilde Thionville, France; used Maginot Line tunnels [10] 1 Apr 1944 no no

Special train (Führersonderzug)

The Führer's special train was used first during the Balkans Campaign in early 1941. The train was ironically named Führersonderzug "Amerika" in 1940, and later Führersonderzug "Brandenburg". After the Balkans Campaign the train was not used as a Führer Headquarters, but Hitler used it throughout the war when he travelled between Berlin, Berchtesgaden, Munich and other headquarters.

The exact elements of the train is not known, but some details were revealed by the departure information "Bln 2009", when the train departed the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin on 23 June 1941, arriving at Wolfsschanze on 24 June 1941;

The individual 17 components (locomotives and cars) in order were:[6]

Otto Dietrich indicates that the Flakwagen never had to be used when Hitler was travelling. The "Pressewagen" was to receive and release press reports, not for journalists.[21]

There were other special trains (Sonderzüge in German) used by prominent German officials;[7][9]

See also

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19, Introduction and p. 1.
  2. ↑ McNab 2014, pp. 37,48.
  3. 1 2 Eberle, Henrik and Uhl, Matthias, The Unknown Hitler, 11th chapter, pp. 199–200
  4. ↑ Lehrer, Steven, The Reich Chancellery and Führerbunker Complex, p. 123
  5. ↑ Beevor, Antony, Berlin: The Downfall 1945, p. 357
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19, p. 2.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No.19, pp. 48–51.
  8. ↑ McNab 2014, pp. 18.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Der Kommandant Führerhauptquartier from Das Bundesarchiv (German, www.bundesarchiv.de)
  10. 1 2 McNab 2014, pp. 27.
  11. ↑ Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19, p. 4.
  12. ↑ The Berlin Führerbunker: The Thirteenth Hole, After the Battle, No.61 Special Edition (entire)
  13. ↑ McNab 2014, pp. 31.
  14. ↑ Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19, p. 18.
  15. ↑ McNab 2014, pp. 43.
  16. ↑ McNab 2014, pp. 59,60.
  17. ↑ Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After The Battle, No. 19, p. 28.
  18. ↑ Raiber, Richard, Guide to Hitler's Headquarters, After the Battle, No. 19, p. 10.
  19. ↑ McNab 2014, pp. 38.
  20. 1 2 3 McNab 2014, pp. 39-42.
  21. ↑ Otto Dietrich. The Hitler I Knew. Memoirs of the Third Reich's Press Chief. Skyhorse Publishing (2010). p. 189. ISBN 978-1-60239-972-3.
Bibliography
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