Wolf's Lair

Hitler's secretary, Traudl Junge, recalled that Hitler repeatedly spoke in late 1943 or early 1944 of a possible 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."^[7]

According to Speer, between 28 July 1941 and 20 March 1942, Hitler left Rastenburg only four times for a total of 57 days. Afterwards, Hitler spent the next three months in Obersalzberg before returning to Rastenburg for the next nine months.^[8]

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 The previous small bunkers had been replaced by the Organisation Todt with "heavy, colossal structures" of reinforced concrete as defense against the feared air attack.^[9] According to Armaments Minister Albert Speer, "some 36,000,000 marks were spent for bunkers in Rastenburg [Wolf's Lair]."^[10]

Hitler's bunker had become the largest, "a positive fortress" containing "a maze of passages, rooms and halls." Junge wrote, "We had air-raid warnings every day" in the period between the 20 July assassination attempt and Hitler's final departure from the Wolfsschanze in November 1944, "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."^[11]

No air attack ever came. It has never been revealed whether the Western Allies knew of the Wolfsschanze's location and importance. The Soviet Union was unaware of both the location and the scale of the complex until the site was uncovered by its forces during their advance towards Berlin in early 1945.^[12]

Hitler's daily routine

Hitler would begin his day by taking a walk alone with his dog around 10 a.m. or so, after waking up, and at 10:30 a.m. he looked at the mail that had been delivered by air or courier train. A noon situation briefing would be convened, either in Keitel's or Jodl's bunker, and frequently ran for two hours. This was followed by lunch at 2 p.m. in the dining hall. Hitler invariably sat in the same seat between Jodl and Otto Dietrich, while Keitel, Martin Bormann, and Göring's adjutant General Karl Bodenschatz sat opposite him.^[1]

After lunch, Hitler dealt with non-military matters for the remainder of the afternoon. Coffee was served around 5 p.m., followed by a second military briefing by Jodl at 6 p.m. Dinner could also last as long as two hours, beginning at 7:30 p.m., after which films were shown in the cinema. Hitler then retired to his private quarters where he gave monologues to his entourage till late, usually going to sleep around 3 or 4 a.m. Occasionally, Hitler and his entourage listened to

Assassination attempt

On Thursday, July 20, 1944, an attempt was made to kill Hitler at the Wolf's Lair. It was organized by a group of acting and retired army officers, as well as some civilians, who wanted to remove Hitler and establish a new democratic government in Germany that would negotiate a peaceful end to the war with the Allies before Germany's inevitable defeat, which had become apparent to both sides by then. However, the main challenge facing the conspirators was that Hitler's habit of last-minute changes to his schedule had led to the failure of attempts by others to kill him.

Eventually, the conspirators chose the Wolf's Lair as a viable location to target Hitler because it was the only place where they were sure they could get close enough to kill him. Staff officer Colonel

However, on the day of the planned assassination, the location of the meeting was unexpectedly changed to a light brick hut due to Hitler's complaints about the immense heat within the bunkers that day. This change in venue, along with other factors, such as Hitler unexpectedly calling the meeting earlier than anticipated, would contribute to the eventual failure of the plot. Despite this change in plans, Stauffenberg went ahead with carrying out the plot. He carried the briefcase containing the bomb into the conference hut, making a request to be placed close to Hitler on grounds that he had trouble hearing due to his injuries sustained while fighting in North Africa, which would ensure that the bomb would be close enough to Hitler to be effective.

The bomb exploded at precisely 12:42 p.m., with Stauffenberg having excused himself from the meeting a few minutes before. The interior of the building was devastated, four officers were injured and would later die of their wounds but Hitler was only slightly injured. This was due to the fact that one of the other officers present at the meeting had, for his own comfort, moved the briefcase from where it had been put by Stauffenberg close to Hitler and placed it against one of the legs of the solid oak table being used for the meeting. Consequently, the thick, heavy table absorbed most of the blast and this, along with the collapse of some of the hut's thin walls thus dissipating the shockwave, saved the Führer's life.

Even before the bomb detonated, Stauffenberg and his adjutant, Lieutenant Werner von Haeften, had already began their departure for Berlin where they planned to take control of the country alongside their fellow conspirators. Their escape involved passing through various security zones that controlled all access around the site. After a short delay at the RSD guard post just outside Sperrkreis 1, they were allowed to leave by vehicle. The two officers were then driven down the southern exit road towards the military airstrip near Rastenburg.

The alarm had been raised by the time they reached the guardhouse at the perimeter of Sperrkreis 2. According to the official

The attempted assassination was derived from Operation Valkyrie, a covert plan officially sanctioned by Hitler for the Reserve Army to take control and suppress any revolt in the country in the event of his untimely death, which the conspirators adapted to suit their purpose. Unfortunately for the conspirators, news soon arrived from the Wolf's Lair that Hitler was still alive. Upon hearing from Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels that Hitler was indeed alive, as well as speaking to the Führer himself, Major Otto Ernst Remer, in command of the Reserve Army's troops in Berlin still loyal to the regime, was fully convinced of Hitler's survival and he quickly re-established control of key government buildings and arrested the conspirators.

That same evening, Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators were summarily executed by gunshot outside the Bendlerblock in Berlin.

On 20 August 1944, Hitler personally presented survivors of the bomb blast with a "20 July 1944 Wound Badge". Next-of-kin of those killed in the blast were also given this award.

Destruction and capture

The Red Army reached the borders of East Prussia during the Baltic offensive in October 1944. Hitler departed from the Wolf's Lair for the final time on Monday, 20 November 1944, when the Soviet advance reached Angerburg (now Węgorzewo), 15 km (9 mi) away. Two days later, the order was given to destroy the complex.

The demolition took place on the night of 24–25 January 1945, ten days after the start of the Red Army's

The Red Army captured the abandoned remains of the Wolfsschanze on 27 January without firing a shot, the same day that Auschwitz was liberated farther south.

Historical site

Following the war, more than 54,000 land mines were removed from the area, together with abandoned ordnance, and the entire site was left to decay by

As of 2019, the site was drawing almost 300,000 visitors a year. The Srokowo Forest District, which manages the site, announced renovation and restoration plans for the historic site, including new accommodation options, expanded historical exhibitions, and other upgrades to improve visitor experience. Critics worried that the planned changes could turn the site into a place for neo-Nazi pilgrimages, although the District's spokesperson said that they would "make every effort" to maintain "due seriousness and respect for historical truth". Pawel Machcewicz, a Polish historian who specializes in World War II, said, "[T]he scars left by the war should be preserved and presented as a lesson, a warning... Exhibitions should explain the history, contextualise the place, but not completely overshadow it."[52]

In February 2023, the Srokowo Forest District officials announced that the renovation of the "Wilczy Szaniec" site had begun and is slated to be completed by the end of 2024. The project will include expanding and renovating the hotel and restaurant building, adding a new conference room, redesigning the exhibition space, as well as constructing a new observation deck.^[53]

See also

• Führer Headquarters
• Führerbunker
• Führersonderzug

References

Bibliography

• Junge, Traudl, "Bis Zur Letzten Stunde: Hitlers Sekretärin erzählt ihr Leben", München: Claassen, 2002, pp. 131, 141, 162.
• Junge, Traudl, "Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary", London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003, pp. 116, 126, 145.
• Junge, Traudl, "Voices from the Bunker", New York: G.P.Puttnam's sons, 1989.
• ISBN 978-0-393-04994-7
  .
• Speer, Albert, "Inside the Third Reich", New York and Toronto: Macmillan, 1970, p. 217.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wolf's Lair.

• Wolf's Lair website
• Remnants of Wolf's Lair and how to find it...