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Deep in the Masurian forests of Poland, some 200km north of Warsaw, lies one of the iconic sites of World

War II in Europe. The Wolf’s Lair (in German Wolfsschanze, which trans-lates as the ‘Wolf’s Forti� cation’) is a 6.5 square kilometre (2.5 square mile) complex of monolithic buildings and bunkers used by Adolf Hitler over the 800 days between 23 June 1941 and 20 November 1944.

It is now a unique open-air museum, providing an unforgettable insight into Nazi forti� cation as well as Hitler’s own fear and paranoia. Getting there does take some commitment, but the rewards are worth it, including the opportunity to stand at the spot where opponents of the regime came closest to assassinating the Führer.

A SECRET COMPLEXThe Wolf’s Lair was built to enable the German High Command to control the war on the Eastern Front. It was

protected by the Masurian Lakes to the east, a formidable obstacle to any army, as well as a series of immensely strong forti� cations.

Work on the complex started in autumn 1940 and continued until Hit-ler’s departure. The project was sub-ject to the highest levels of secrecy, with the local population told that it was a huge chemical works, and the thick forest cover made it well-nigh impossible to detect from the air.

The work was completed by the Todt Organisation, which used a mix-ture of German civilian ‘volunteers’ and prisoners-of-war. Over 3,000 labourers were used in the construc-tion of over 200 buildings, along with two air� elds, a railway station, power stations, water, heating, and air-puri� cation systems, as well as exten-sive communications infrastructure.

The complex was divided into three security zones: Zone I, the inner sanctum, was where Hitler and his immediate entourage

(over 130 people) had their head-quarters and living accommodation; Zones II and III were of decreasing levels of security, comprising adminis-trative and communications facilities, as well as barracks.

Over 2,000 people worked at the Wolf’s Lair, including troops respon-sible for Hitler’s personal security: these comprised 1,200 members of the Führer Escort Battalion (FBB) and 150 from the Reich Security Service (RSD) and the SS Escort Detachment.

To ensure absolute invisibility from above, an elaborate system of cam-ou� age netting was added between the trees, and in places arti� cial trees were constructed to plug gaps. Much of the wire used to support this is still to be seen. Additionally, walls were painted with ‘seegrass’, a type of camou� age made from seaweed. Even today the Wolf’s Lair is com-pletely hidden, and zooming in on the area with a digital map will reveal no more than the dense Gierłoz forest.

The complex was ringed with extensive mine� elds. Clearance work was only completed in 1956, a� er the recovery of almost 54,000 mines.

THE BUNKERS The most impressive buildings are the ‘heavy bunkers’ built to protect the Nazi leadership. These were built in response to Hitler’s growing fear that the complex would be bombed. He was quoted as saying ‘I expect them to attack any day’. Nevertheless, although the Soviets were advancing gradually through Poland, no air attack took place, leading historians to doubt whether the Allies ever knew of the existence of the Wolf’s Lair.

The massive cube-shaped construc-tions loom out of the trees in Zone I like ruined Mesopotamian ziggurats. They were built to protect Hitler and the inner circle of Martin Bormann, Hermann Goering, and Generals Keitel and Jodl.

In addition, there was a Teleprinter Exchange – of immense importance for communicating with Berlin and commanders on the Front – and an all-purpose air-raid shelter. There was also a ‘Guest Bunker’, which Hitler used before his own was � nished. In all, Hitler used eight separate bunkers in the complex.

By mid-1944, the Todt Organisa-tion had constructed large bunkers

REVIEWING THE BEST MILITARY HISTORY EXHIBITIONS WITH STEPHEN MILES

VISIT

THE WOLF’S LAIRThe site is 8km from the town of Ketrzyn (known in German as Rastenburg)www.wolfsschanze.pl/index.php/en/wolf-s-lairOpen all year round, from 8am to dusk (check the website if your visit is out of season)

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with double walls and roofs using huge thicknesses of steel-reinforced concrete. On the roofs of the bunkers were anti-aircra� � ak towers, the best preserved of which are now on Goering’s bunker.

Hitler’s own bunker (number 13) was the largest. It measured 36m × 36m × 18m, with an outer surface of 2,480 square metres. On completion, this behemoth had foundations that were 8m deep and an 8.5m-thick reinforced concrete roof. Hitler lived in it continuously for his last two weeks at the Wolf’s Lair.

THE BOMB PLOTThe Wolf’s Lair was the location for the famous ‘Bomb Plot’. The place where the conspirators attempted to assassinate Hitler can still be seen. There were at least 40 documented attempts to kill the Führer, including three at the Wolf’s Lair (in 1943 and 1944), but the tight security surrounding him made any attempt extremely di� cult.

Opposition to Hitler had been growing from before the start of the war. Many Germans, including many conservatives, were appalled by the National Socialist dictatorship, its

crudeness and brutality, and the irrationality of the regime’s policies. At this time, however, the Wehrmacht (the German Armed Forces) were content to remain aloof from politics. Only a� er the outbreak of war did many senior military � gures became disillusioned with the Nazis. This ‘mili-tary opposition’ gathered momentum a� er the defeat at Stalingrad, once it was clear that Hitler was leading Germany to disaster.

On 20 July 1944, Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stau� enberg, a severely wounded war veteran and member of the Kreisau Circle anti-Nazi resistance group, travelled to the Wolf’s Lair in a bid to kill Hitler. His idea was to detonate a bomb placed in a suitcase when he attended a situation meeting with the Führer and his commanders. A successful assassination was to be followed by a coup using the emergency military measure known as ‘Valkyrie’ to establish a new government.

The meeting was to be held in the Guest Bunker (number 6), and the conspirators hoped the enclosed concrete shell would concentrate the e� ects of the blast to kill all present, including the Führer. Von Stau� enberg

planned to make his excuses to leave the room before the bomb went o� .

STAUFFENBERG’S SUITCASE At the last moment, the venue for the meeting was changed to a nearby building (number 3), perhaps because the weather was hot and the windows could be opened, as they indeed were.

Stau� enberg entered the room, and a� er shaking hands with Hitler placed his briefcase down under the large table. Unfortunately, the case was on the opposite side of the table’s legs to Hitler. Stau� enberg then indicated that he needed to make a telephone call and le� the building; his adjutant was waiting for him with a sta� car, and the two drove to the airport and then � ew to Berlin.

The bomb exploded shortly a� er 12.40pm, causing massive destruction to the room: a hole had been blown in the � oorboards and the table reduced to wreckage. Four were killed and several more wounded, but, crucially, apart from a wounded arm and some temporary hearing loss, Hitler was unharmed.

Whether the table leg had protected him from the force of the blast or the open windows had allowed its force

K Ę T R Z Y N , P O L A N D

PICTURED ON BOTH PAGES:1. Hitler’s bunker – the largest on the site

2. Goering’s bunker

3. Memorial to the 20 July assassination attempt

4. Camou� age ‘seegrass’ on a ventilation chimney

5. Bormann’s bunker

6. Keitel’s bunker (Stau� enberg primed the bomb here)

to dissipate will never be known. But the plot had failed, and retribution was swi� and brutal.

The building where the attempt took place is a major focus for any visit. The events are the subject of the � lm Valkyrie, with Tom Cruise playing Stau� enberg.

DESTRUCTION At the time of the assassination attempt, the Soviets were just 140km from the complex. By the end of the year, Hitler’s presence there had become untenable, and he returned to Berlin.

On 24-25 January 1945, the retreat-ing Germans blew up the complex, and the Soviets moved in a few days later without a shot being � red. An estimated eight tons of TNT was used to destroy each of the larger bunkers. The force of the explosions is perhaps the most dramatic aspect of the site, with enormous chunks of reinforced concrete – some the size of double-decker buses – split and detached from the walls.

VISITING THE WOLF’S LAIRA� er the war the site was le� to return to nature, and today the forest has encroached on the bunkers: trees grow inside and on top of them, and their walls are green with moss. Remarkably, bats have started to colonise several bunkers – including Hitler’s. Because the structures were so thoroughly destroyed, the internal plans of the ‘heavy bunkers’ are di� cult to determine, and for safety reasons visitors are cautioned against entering them.

The paid admission area is Zone I (the most interesting), although Zone II can also be visited without a guide. There are few information boards at the site, and visits to Zone I are undertaken with guidebooks and maps (bought from the ticket o� ce) keyed to the numbered bunkers. Alternatively guides can be hired (see the website for details).

The SS Escort Detachment barracks is now a hotel and restaurant. .

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