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Obersalzberg
Air Raid Shelters (Tunnel
and Bunker Systems)
When the Allied bombing
campaign over the Third Reich
became a reality in 1943, Reichsleiter Martin Bormann was forced to order the construction
of a series of air raid shelters and command posts for the residents and military staff of
the Obersalzberg. These tunnels are often called "bunkers" today, but they are not
technically so, since they were not meant as defensive positions from which to fight (even
though their entrances were protected by machineguns), but simply as shelters in case of air
attacks. They were used successfully for this purpose during the Royal Air Force bombing
on 25 April 1945.
Elaborate shelter systems were
built beneath the hill behind the Berghof, with tastefully furnished rooms for Hitler and
his mistress Eva Braun; beneath the RSD headquarters at Haus Türken; and into the high
hill near Göring's house (sometimes called the Göring Hill or Adolf Hitler Hill). The
latter included Bormann's private shelter system, another private bunker for Göring and his
adjutant (which Bormann would not allow to be connected to the rest of the bunker system),
and a command and communications center for the Obersalzberg anti-aircraft defense. There
was also a tunnel complex behind the Platterhof, with a planned link to Hitler's bunker,
and other less elaborate (or less finished) complexes in the periphery of the area
(SS Kaserne, Antenberg, Hintereck/Klaushöhe, Buchenhöhe, Gutshof, Obertal).
The bunker systems consisted of
multi-level tunnels lined with concrete and bricks, with associated power, heating, and
ventilation systems, and anti-gas protection systems. Most entrances and emergency exits
were covered by protected machinegun positions, and some of these were quite elaborate. It
would have been difficult for any enemy to fight his way into these systems. The
anti-aircraft defense center included a concrete tower containing a stairway leading to the surface, and also a periscope.
It should be noted than in
addition to the traditional air-raid tunnel systems, there were access
tunnels linking several of the buildings on the Obersalzberg, as well as tunnels
for ventilation, water, and sewage pipes. Most of these smaller secondary
tunnels do not appear on any published maps. Click here
to see some of these access tunnels beneath the SS Kaserne, and here to see an access tunnel between the Hotel Zum
Türken and the Filmarchiv building. See the Bibliography
page for information of Florian Beierl's new book on the tunnel systems,
"Hitlers Berg."
Most of the underground systems
are now sealed and not accessible to the public, but a very interesting tour of some of
the system can be had at the Hotel Zum Türken, and the
unfinished military headquarters complex (Platterhof/Gästehaus
bunker) can be visited from the
Obersalzberg Documentation Center near the Platterhof site.
Plan of the Central Obersalzberg Bunker System
The portions that are open to the public are marked in yellow. Other tunnel
and shelter systems existed beneath other parts of the Obersalzberg, such as the
Gutshof, Antenberg, Klaushöhe, Buchenhöhe, and Obertal.
Several other tunnels existed in this area that are not shown on this map. (Dokumentation Obersalzberg)
Türken and Berghof Tunnels
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This stairway leads
down into the tunnel complex beneath the Hotel zum Türken, and on to the
Berghof tunnels. At the bottom of the
stairways, the entrance corridors were protected by
machineguns (the corridor turns to the left just before the wall at the end).
(All photos of the Türken tunnel complex were taken and published here by
permission of Frau Ingrid Scharfenberg, Hotel zum Türken.) |
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Some of the corridors were covered
by machinegun positions that had no entrances on the same level, but were reached from
corridors below. |
Bricked-up entrance to Hitler's
tunnel/bunker, in the system beneath the Hotel zum Türken (an anti-gas damper is visible above
the doorway). |
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| In the
1950s and 1960s more of the Berghof tunnel system was open to the public than
is the case today. These photos from postcards of that period show
(left) the corridor leading to the rooms for Hitler, Eva Braun, and Dr. Theo
Morell (Hitler's personal physician); (center) steps leading to areas used by
the guards; (right) the stairway leading to the main entrance at the
rear of the Berghof |
Inside the Berghof tunnel today. This view was
taken through the hole in the upper-left corner
of the bricked-up doorway - the
view is the same as the photo on the left above.
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Emergency
exits to the Berghof tunnel system. The exit above was the one that
had a bazooka fired into it in May 1945 (see
below) - although the exit appears to be open in this photo, it is
closed today by an iron door just a few feet inside. The other exit
(below) is
also closed by an iron door (both doors are kept locked). The actual
entrance to Hitler's tunnel system was through a doorway in the retaining
wall at the rear of the Berghof, behind the Haus Wachenfeld wing (this
doorway is buried under fill today). |
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| When the U.S. Army moved onto the
Obersalzberg on 4 May 1945, they did not know if the underground systems were
defended, so
they fired bazookas into some of the emergency exits. These photos show damage to
an interior machinegun position from a bazooka fired into the Berghof system emergency
exit corridor near the Hotel zum Türken, marked on the map above. The photo
on the left shows the blast damage on the exit side of the high
explosive shaped charge, while the photo on the right shows the view as
seen from the bazooka gunner's side, standing in the emergency exit
corridor (although the round was doubtless fired from further away that
this.) |
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| Two
views of the emergency exit corridor where the bazooka was fired - on
the left, looking down toward the exit from the main tunnel; on the
right, the iron door that closes the emergency exit today (on the other
side of this door is the exit seen here.) |
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| The
corridor above marked MG-STAND led to the machinegun position that was
the bazooka target, and on to the
corridor leading to the emergency exit. The photo on the right (of a
different machinegun position) shows the view from the target side -
note the steps in the observation port, to stops bullets from glancing
off a smooth surface and into the port. |
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| Views
showing opposite sides of a tunnel machinegun position. On the left is
the gunner's side - the machinegun could be mounted either at the upper
left or the bottom, with a wide field of fire. The opening at the upper
right (closed with a metal plate here) was for observation and
targeting. All three openings on the target side (seen at right) had
steps to prevent enemy bullets from entering. |
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| Left - machinery room in
the Türken tunnel system, for power generation systems; center - room for
ventilation equipment (the connection to the similar tunnel beneath the
Berghof tunnels has been bricked up); right - corridor leading to
Bormann's tunnel system (closed off further around the corner). |
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| Further
views in the tunnel system beneath the Hotel Zum Türken. On the left is
a corridor on the lowest level, giving access to the machinegun
positions on the level above. In the center can be seen conduits for
piping and communication cables. Ground water running through these
conduits has produced artificial "flowstone," as in a cave
system. On the right is a doorway near the entrance to the Berghof
tunnel system. The metal doors and most of the wooden door frames were
plundered after the April 1945 bombing, but some of the original wood
survives (some of the door frames in the Berghof tunnels are in
surprisingly good condition today). |
Platterhof
Tunnel
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Entrance to an unfinished elevator
shaft in the Platterhof/Gästehaus tunnel complex, which would have connected with Hitler's
Berghof bunker
and with a planned additional tunnel system, some 50 feet beneath this one.
On the right is a view looking into the shaft, showing the mounts for
the elevator machinery. |
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| One of the corridors in the
Platterhof complex, reached today from the
Documentation Center. |
This staircase led up
to the tunnel entrance in the basement of the Platterhof hotel. |
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The
staircase leading to the Platterhof hotel basement was protected by a
machinegun position. On the left is an iron gun mount in its position in
the concrete wall; on the right is another gun mount lying on the floor,
showing the whole configuration. |
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Adjacent
to the foot of the stairway from the Platterhof hotel basement was an unfinished emergency exit.
This area of the Platterhof tunnels was recently opened to
the public for the first time since 1995. |
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An unfinished room in the
Platterhof tunnel system, seen in 1945. This is probably the same large
room today, seen from the other end (looking toward the doorway). (U.S. Army photo) |
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| Left and
center - rooms that branch off the main corridors. Some of these rooms
were meant as offices - the room on the left still has a large metal
safe that has fallen to the floor. The corridor on the right has a deep
tank behind the railing (not period), for fuel for the generators. |
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| This
large corridor in the Platterhof tunnel complex housed electrical
generators and other power machinery for heating and forced ventilation,
along with fuel storage. On the left is a view taken in 1981, on the tour from the Gen. Walker Hotel
(former Platterhof), with the corresponding view today in the center (as
toured from the Documentation Center). On the right is a view looking
back the other way, showing some of the machinery mounts. |
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| Graffiti
are a common sight in the tunnels today - these can be seen in the
Platterhof complex. On the left, period graffiti from the Allied
take-over of the Obersalzberg in May 1945. The crosses (La Croix de
Lorraine du DeGaulle) were the symbol
of the Free French forces (2e DB = 2nd Division Blinde - 2nd French Armored
Division) - this is in the corridor seen in the
photos just above. On the right,
graffiti from the "Last Bunker Tour (forever)," 24 October
1995. This was the last tour by the Armed Forces Recreation Center, from
the General Walker Hotel (see the Platterhof
page). |
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Original ventilation equipment in the Platterhof complex.
On the right is a filter canister for the air filtration system installed
by the Dräger company of Lübeck (click here
to see an original Dräger system that was installed beneath the
Berchtesgadener Hof hotel). |
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Main emergency exit to the
Platterhof/Gästehaus tunnel system, as it appeared in May 1945, and in
1981, bricked up and overgrown. (from "Yank, The
Army Weekly," 22 June 1945 (author's collection) |
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This exit is now enclosed, part of
the Documentation Center, and serves as the entrance to the Platterhof
tunnel system. On the right above, branching corridors inside this
entrance to the
Platterhof /Gästehaus tunnel system. The corridor on the right led to the
main tunnel system, while that on the left opened into one of the
unfinished parts of the system (seen below). |
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SS Kaserne Tunnels
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| The SS
Kaserne, adjacent to the Platterhof site, had two levels of tunnels
associated with it. The pictures here were taken in the access tunnels
that ran beneath the barracks buildings. These tunnels were torn out and
filled in 2001. Click here
to see more photos of the SS tunnels. (courtesy Ralf
Hornberger) |
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Bormann's
Tunnel / Anti-Aircraft Defense Tunnel
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Emergency bunker exit below the
site of Bormann's house. Some maps indicate that this was planned to connect to Bormann's own
system or the adjacent anti-aircraft defense complex, while others show it connecting to the
tunnel system near the Koksbunker,
for the Hintereck and Klaushöhe settlements. This tunnel is accessible, but
often has several inches of water in it. |
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The
tunnel goes only a few yards and then widens out. However, at the apparent bottom of a
stairway, the tunnel is blocked with earth and debris, and has apparently been so blocked
since 1945 (or perhaps since the razing of the Bormann house ruins in 1952). The iron
hooks on the wall originally held ventilation pipes. |
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These views show the water drainage system beneath
the floor (large pipe opening) and the smaller openings for the cable
conduits. |
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Concrete tower on the hill above the
greenhouse.
This is usually called an observation tower, but it was actually the top
of a staircase leading from the anti-aircraft defense and communications center
below. The cone-shaped items were bases for radio
antennas, and the cubical
block was for a periscope. |
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The doorway of the
circular tower was sealed after the war. Unfortunately, these interesting ruins were
removed during the construction of a hotel on the hill above,
2002-2005. |
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| The photo
on the left, from ca. 1946, shows the top
of the circular concrete tower and the cubical
periscope block
from above (bottom of the photo) - looking out over the ruins
of the SS Kaserne, with the Platterhof and its garage beyond. On the right
is a view from about the same period, looking the opposite direction from
the SS Kaserne toward the ruins of the greenhouse, with the concrete tower
and antenna mounts on the hillside above the greenhouse ruin. (left
- photo by Ernst Baumann, author's collection; right - private collection). |
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distance
lower down on the hillside, opposite the Hotel zum Türken, is this
entrance to the system for the anti-aircraft defense and communications center.
It also apparently connected to the Türken, Berghof, and Bormann
systems. On the left, a GI guards the entrance in May 1945. This
entrance looked much the same for many years, with only the arched
opening closed and the smaller metal door added (like the photos just below), but in recent years the original cement face was
covered over. (U.S. Army photo, National Archives Record Group
111-SC) |
The same tunnel entrance in 1949, when
it could still be found open for touring.
(Westfield Athenaeum Collection, courtesy Frank Tompkins)
Other
Obersalzberg Tunnels
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| This tunnel entrance is located near the
Koksbunker. It gave access to the
tunnel system for the employees
living in the Hintereck area, and for the Klaushöhe housing settlement.
Another
such entrance is located inside the leftmost Koksbunker coal room. |
This emergency exit
to Göring's tunnel system is located on the lower hillside between the
site of his house and his adjutant's house. |
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| This
small unfinished tunnel system on the Obersalzberg is thought to have
been used by the SS contingent to store munitions. (courtesy
Ralf Hornberger) |
Antenberg
Tunnel
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| A tunnel
system was built into the Antenberg hill, beneath the Theaterhalle, for
protection of the workers living in the adjacent barracks area during air attack.
In contrast to the elaborate and somewhat luxurious systems of Hitler
and Bormann, this was a no-frills basic air-raid shelter. It was only
partly finished, with mostly bare rooms having only a few benches, and
the walls and floors were often wet and muddy. But it served its purpose
- during the RAF bombing attack on 25 April 1945, few if any of the
Antenberg residents were killed. These photos show the entrance corridor
(from both sides) - when completed, a machinegun position such as those in the Türken
tunnels would have been here. |
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| Hallways
with side rooms in the Antenberg system. The stalactites, from ground
water leaching through the ceilings, are a common sight in tunnel
systems not maintained for the public. The mud lines on the walls show
how high the water can get in these tunnels. |
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| On the
left, an unfinished corridor in the Antenberg system, with its original
wooden shoring beams. The photo on the right shows how the tunnel walls
were constructed - a layer of concrete was laid against the rock, then
waterproof rubberized sheeting (the black material peeling away above
the bricks), then a layer of bricks, then an interior coat of concrete. |
Obertal and Gutshof Tunnels
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| Beyond
the existing air attack shelter tunnel systems on the Obersalzberg, a further
system was planned at a level much deeper beneath the mountains. This
system was apparently meant to eventually allow vehicles to be driven
into the mountain beneath the Obersalzberg center, and the tunnels would
have been correspondingly larger. Rough tunnels exist today in the
Obertal area (shown here) and at the Gutshof, leading toward the Obersalzberg central
area. These tunnels do not join today, but they may have been planned
to. (The Gutshof tunnel system in inaccessible today, but you can see
photos below.) |
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| Several
interesting artifacts line the walls of the Obertal tunnel system.
Wooden pieces project from the walls at regular intervals - these
probably held power lines during the construction. On the right is an
original boring bit, still in its hole in the wall (this one has been
bent downward from the hole) - several such bits remain in the walls. |
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the most interesting relic is the remains of a wooden cart that was used
to transport the broken rock along a railway on the floor, out to the
tunnel entrance. On the right, a view of the only side chamber in the
Obertalstollen. The concrete foundations were mounts for
ventilation apparatus and other machinery. |
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| Near the
Obertal tunnel entrance is this hillside bunker that was used as storage
for the explosives used in tunnel construction. Below is a concrete
artifact near the tunnel entrance, which is believed to be part of a
cable system to lift construction materials from the valley below.
(My thanks to my friend
and fellow explorer Ralf Hornberger, for info on the Antenberg and
Obertal tunnel systems, and for the photo below.) |
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| This
similar tunnel system is near the Gutshof (the entrances are buried
today). This tunnel contained side rooms, which were likely meant for
the Gutshof personnel and perhaps even the livestock, and possibly the
Albert Speer family, who lived nearby but had no tunnel system for their
house. (courtesy Ralf Hornberger) |
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Tunnels
in Berchtesgaden
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| Above
are two views of the tunnel passages of the Weinfeld Stollen in
Berchtesgaden. This tunnel system was opened to the public for the first
time since 1945, for a tour commemorating the 60th anniversary of the
end of World War II in May 2005. Below is one entrance to the lower
section of the two-tier Berghof Stollen (no relation to the Obersalzberg
Berghof). |
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Below is the entrance to the upper level of the
Berghof Stollen, which can be found off Ludwig Ganghofer Straße. The view from
above shows how the tunnel entrance goes back into the hill behind (courtesy
Ralf Hornberger).
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| This
entrance leads to the upper level of the Nonntal Stollen (not open to
the public). |
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| This
entrance leads to the Kalvarienberg Stollen (not open to
the public). (Thanks to Mario Blersch for info) |
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| Splitterschutzgraben,
or trenches for protection against bomb shrapnel, were provided both in
Berchtesgaden itself and on the Obersalzberg. This example is in the
open area below the Wittelsbach palace in Berchtesgaden. On the right is
a view inside the collapsed shelter. An intact example is located on the
Obersalzberg, near the site of the workers' camp between Klaushöhe and
Buchenhöhe. |
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| These
photos show one of the Splitterschutz bunkers on the
Obersalzberg, near the site of the workers' camp between Klaushöhe and
Buchenhöhe. Above are the entrances as seen from the outside, below are
interior views. At the bottom right can be seen an original anchor for
the camouflage netting in this area. (photos above courtesy
Ralf Hornberger) |
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Extensive
tunnel systems were planned, and some were even started, in other areas
around Berchtesgaden. One of these would have been in the mountains
surrounding the Königssee lake, south of
Berchtesgaden. This extensive tunnel system was meant as a headquarters
for SS chief Heinrich Himmler. Only a test tunnel was begun - the
entrance can be seen during a boat tour of the lake, in the western
shore hillside near the "Echo Wall." |
Moll System
Guard Bunkers
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| This artifact can be found on the side of the hill near the site
of Landhaus Göring. This was a "Moll-System" concrete bunker
for two guards, manufactured by the Leonhard Moll concrete company of
Munich. There were at least twenty-one of these concrete shelters for the
guard force in the Obersalzberg
area -
one was at the west end of the Berghof,
another on the Göringhügl
hill, two others adjacent to Göring's
house, one on the hillside across the street from the Platterhof,
two were on the Bodnerbichl,
overlooking the Platterhof complex,
one at the eastern corner of the SS
Kaserne complex, another was on the
Antenberg near the Theaterhalle, another just behind the Kampfhäusl,
another near Speer's house and studio,
another at the entrance to the path
leading to the Berghof bunker exit nearest the main Obersalzberg road,
three at the Klaushöhe
housing complex, two more at a workers camp above Klaushöhe,
another above Buchenhöhe, another near Villa Bechstein, and another on the northern edge of the
security area, just inside the fence, near the
Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus (this last one is also intact - see photos below); while others
were located in Berchtesgaden itself. Many of those listed here still
have pieces lying around, while others can be seen in aerial photos
taken in May 1945.
These
Berchtesgaden/Obersalzberg Moll Bunkers were presumably provided as shelter from air attacks for the roving
guard force, or as observation posts to guard against paratrooper or
glider landings. They were often located beside paths in the woods leading
to various buildings, but also sometimes in isolated locations. Occupants
could not fight from these positions - only observe through narrow slits.
(additional photos and info courtesy
Ralf Hornberger, George Foehringer, Chrisu Jähnl, and David Beavan)
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| This
Moll Bunker is located on the northern edge of the Obersalzberg security area, just inside the fence, near the
path leading to the site of the Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus.
Remains of the chain-link fence that ran around the security area can
still be seen near this bunker. |
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| On the
left above, a member of the SS guard force stands inside the fence that
ran around the perimeter of the security area. On the right are remains
of this fence, that can be found today near the site of the
Teehaus. (courtesy Ralf Hornberger) |
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| These
three 1945 photos show the Moll-System bunker that guarded
access to the Berghof along the path coming from the Gästehaus, at the
west end of the Berghof Adjutancy building. The top (upside-down) and other
pieces of this bunker can still be found today on the slope below the
Berghof site (pieces of another Moll Bunker can be found near the tunnel
emergency exit that is downhill from this side of the Berghof site).
Remains of the camouflage netting can also be seen in the photos
above. (left above - Hotel Zum Türken collection; right above
- "Yank, the Army Weekly," 22 June 1945; left below - U.S.
National Archives Film Branch)
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| The photo on the left
above, taken shortly
after American occupation in 1945, shows the Moll-System bunker on the
Bodnerbichl hill (arrow). (The view is looking over the Platterhof - click here
to see the entire photo.) On the right and below are the moss-covered
remains of this bunker which can be found on the side of the Bodnerbichl
today. (U.S. Army Signal Corps photo, National Archives RG
342FH 3A20801) |
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| The view
on the left is overlooking the site of the Kampfhäusl.
Just uphill behind the house site can be seen the top and pieces of the
sides and doors of a Moll Bunker. The Moll Bunker top on the right is on
the hillside above the road between Klaushöhe
and Buchenhöhe.
(right - courtesy Ralf Hornberger) |
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| These
1945 photos show the ruins of Hermann Göring's house (left and below) and the
Villa Bechstein (right). Moll-System bunkers can be seen at the right
side of each photo above (the Bechstein one is missing its top). A Moll
Bunker on the other side of Göring's house can be seen in the distance
just to the left of the house in the photo below. There are no
remains of these bunkers today. |
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| These
two
Moll-System bunkers were located in Berchtesgaden itself - the one on
the left
is on the hillside above the Hotel Watzmann, while that on the right was above the
Salzbergwerk (salt mine). It guarded the lower end of a walking trail
leading up to the Obersalzberg. This trail was popular in the early-mid
1930s with hikers who wanted to see Hitler's Berghof - it was even
published on period tourism maps. When the Obersalzberg area was closed
to public access, a guard was apparently posted here. (Note -
the Moll
Bunker on the right was removed in early 2005 and broken up, by the Salzbergwerk
mining company.) (left - photo courtesy Ralf Hornberger) |
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This 1945 photo shows a "Moll-System" shelter in place. This particular example was installed as a guard
position outside the gate to the SS barracks at the Dachau concentration
camp. In this
photo, management has been taken over by the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division. (U.S.
Army Signal Corps photo) On the right is the
L.MOLL logo of the Leonhard Moll company, found on the door of one of the Obersalzberg
Moll Bunkers. Below is a period design plan for the Moll Bunker, dated 2
September 1942. Note that this plan shows the bunker was to be set in a
concrete base, and each bunker had two wooden seats for the guards (these
seats are normally missing in extant bunkers found today). (below
- courtesy Mario Blersch) |
Click here
to visit a page with photos of various Moll Bunkers still in existence around
Munich and other Bavarian cities - scroll down to
"Splitterschutzzellen."
For further information, including Internet links, check
the Bibliography page.
 Continue to other Obersalzberg sites - Hitler's
Berghof, Bormann's and Göring's houses, Platterhof, Gästehaus and Kampfhäusl, Hotel Zum Türken,
Kehlsteinhaus, SS barracks, Gutshof and Teehaus,
miscellaneous buildings, other miscellaneous
area buildings.
 Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
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