Wolfs Lair

[IanC]

Friends,

I was wondering if any members have visted Hitlers eastern front headquarters, The F******252;hrerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze that was located near Rastenburg?

From looking on the web it appears to be quite a tourist spot. If you have been, can you post your photos and thoughts of it here?

Cheers

Ian

[Okrach]

Well I have,

Actually, there is not much left there. Russians blew it off some time ago. Nevertheless this place gives THAT FEEL.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Ian, some info here:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ght=Wolfs+Lair

Cheers, Ade.

[MMM]

Hi Ian

I last went there in 1998

It was comprehensively trashed by the Soviets but is still worth a trip.

It is mostly collapsed blocks of concrete with the odd ruined brick building.

Its not that easy to get to I went in a private car but I did notice a bus stop near the entrance, but I have no idea where the buses go to or from or when they run. The site itself is in the middle of a forest.

There was a small museum on site too.

No doubt some enterprising Pole runs tours there from the nearest town by now.

Regards

Mark

[sturmann]

Slt,

I went a few times. It is in one of the most beautifull part not only of Poland but also of Europe . The country side of Oriental Prussia is just wonderfull

The bunker "WolfLair / Wolfsschanze" site is huge & well worth the visit !!
If you go, do not miss the bunkers on the other side of the road/dis-used railway line.
The bunkers tend to be in a better condition than the Furhrer's one.

In the old Rastenburg town (dont know the actual Polish name) there are couple of "classic" gun position bunkers in good condition worth seeing as well.

There are also some incredibly impressive dams in the Middle of a forest to see . You will have to ask localy for help because nothing is indicated and it's very much a question of "you have to know where it is" to find them. They are the vestige of an incredibly ambitious plan of further linking even more Mazurian lakes together.

y

NB - Okrach + MMM / I was under the impression that it was the Germans themselves who had blown the place up during the retreat ??

[MMM]

Hi Sturmann

From what I can recall the guide saying the Germans did indeed do some demolition.

However as I recall she went onto say the Soviets tried to obliterate all traces of the site but the structures were too big, so further blasting went on to try and seal some of the entrances as a number of "treasure hunters" had gone down the tunnels following the war but some had not resurfaced.

Regards

Mark

[mvm71]

I'd love to tour the site someday, looks like a great trip.

Does anyone know if you can go inside the Fuhrer bunker or others? I know they have been damaged or destroyed but is there a way to get in and see what's left inside?

Thanks,
Mike

[IanC]

Thanks Okrach, I'm sure it has a has strange feel!

Ade, Thanks for the link.

Mark, Thanks for the information on the site. How you describe it is pretty much what I expected.

Sturmann, thanks for your valuable contribution

Thanks again all!

Cheers

Ian

[jwburchell]

Ian and others - I visited there in June, 2005, solo and not as part of an organized tour. Took me the better part of a day from Berlin to get there by train, with one change in Poznan for Ketrzyn. I had to take a taxi from the train station to the site in Gierlozy, about 8 km. outside of Ketrzyn. Paid admission and, not understanding Polish, hired a guide on site to get the most out of my walking visit of the area. He spoke German which was good, since I am fluent and not much else was in English - although Russian was spoken. He offered to sell me some souvenirs after our tour and secretively fetched them to show me - all blatant reproduction items, so I politely declined - but I am sure many visitors are happy to have them.

You can get a good idea of the place from the excellent information and links mentioned above by other forum members, but I will post a few of my own pictures here.

Regards,
John

Overview plan of the area:

[jwburchell]

Legend to the site plan:

[jwburchell]

German portion (the other in Polish) of the memorial plaque commemorating the assassination attempt, which in English reads:

"On this site stood the barrack where on 20 July 1944 Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler. He and many others, who fought against the National Socialist dictatorship paid with their lives."

[jwburchell]

The walls of the bunker where Hitler's guests were housed:

[jwburchell]

View of partial collapsed bunker wall from period demolition efforts (note thickness):

[jwburchell]

Remains of Hitler's bunker:

[jwburchell]

Portion of a collapsed flak tower gun emplacement from the top of Goering's bunker: