World War 2 In Review: Wolf’s Lair: Hitler’s First Eastern Front Military Headquarters

Wolf’s Lair (Wolfsschanze) was Adolf Hitler’s first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The complex, which became one of several Führerhauptquartiere (Führer Headquarters) in various parts of eastern Europe, was built for the start of Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the Soviet Union – in 1941. It was constructed by Organization Todt.

The top secret, high security site was in the Masurian woods about 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the small East Prussian town of Rastenburg. Three security zones surrounded the central complex where the Führer’s bunker was located. These were guarded by personnel from the SS Reichssicherheitsdienst and the Wehrmacht’s armored Führerbegleitbrigade. Despite the security, the most notable assassination attempt against Hitler was made at the Wolf’s Lair on 20 July 1944.

Hitler first arrived at the headquarters on 23 June 1941. In total, he spent more than 800 days at the Wolfsschanze during a 3½-year period until his final departure on 20 November 1944. In mid-1944, work began to enlarge and reinforce many of the Wolf’s Lair original buildings. The work was never completed because of the rapid advance of the Red Army during the Baltic Offensive in late 1944. On 25 January 1945, the complex was blown up and abandoned 48 hours before the arrival of Soviet forces.

Wolfsschanze is derived from “Wolf”, a self-adopted nickname of Hitler. He began using the nickname in the early 1930s and it was often how he was addressed by those in his intimate circle. “Wolf” was used in several titles of Hitler’s headquarters throughout occupied Europe, such as Wolfsschlucht I and II in Belgium and France and Werwolf in Ukraine.

Although the standard translation in English is “Wolf’s Lair,” a Schanze in German denotes a sconce, redoubt or temporary fieldwork.

The decision was made in late 1940 to build the Wolf’s Lair in the middle of a forest, far from major roads and urban areas. The 6.5 km² (2.5 sq mi) complex was completed by 21 June 1941 and consisted of three concentric security zones. About two thousand people lived and worked at the Wolf’s Lair at its peak, among them twenty women, some of whom were required to eat Hitler’s food to test for poison. The installations were served by a nearby airfield and railway lines. Buildings within the complex were camouflaged with bushes, grass, and artificial trees on the flat roofs; netting was also erected between buildings and the surrounding forest so that the installation looked like unbroken dense woodland from the air.

Sperrkreis 1 (Security Zone 1) was located at the heart of the Wolf’s Lair, ringed by steel fencing and guarded by the Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD). It contained the Führer Bunker and ten other camouflaged bunkers built from 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) thick steel-reinforced concrete. These shelters protected members of Hitler’s inner circle such as Martin Bormann, Hermann Göring, Wilhelm Keitel, and Alfred Jodl. Hitler’s accommodation was on the northern side of Führer Bunker so as to avoid direct sunlight. Both Hitler’s and Keitel’s bunkers had additional rooms where military conferences could be held.

Sperrkreis 2 (Security Zone 2) surrounded the inner zone. This area housed the quarters of several Reich Ministers such as Fritz Todt, Albert Speer, and Joachim von Ribbentrop. It also housed the quarters of the personnel who worked in the Wolf’s Lair and the military barracks for the RSD.

Sperrkreis 3 (Security Zone 3) was the heavily fortified outer security area which surrounded the two inner zones. It was defended by land mines and the Führer Begleit Brigade (FBB), a special armored security unit from Wehrmacht which manned guard houses, watchtowers, and checkpoints.

A facility for Army headquarters was also located near the Wolf’s lair complex.

The RSD had overall responsibility for Hitler’s personal security, although external protection of the complex was provided by the FBB, which had become a regiment by July 1944. The FBB was equipped with tanks, anti-aircraft guns, and other heavy weapons. Any approaching aircraft could be detected up to 100 kilometers (62 mi) from the Wolf’s Lair. Additional troops were also stationed about 75 kilometers (47 mi) away.

Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge recalled that Hitler spoke repeatedly 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.”

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 Obersalzburg before returning to Rastenburg for the next 9 months.

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. According to Armaments Minister Albert Speer, “some 36,000,000 marks were spent for bunkers in Rastenburg [Wolf’s Lair].” 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.”

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 it was uncovered by their forces in their advance towards Germany in early 1945.

Hitler would begin his day when he was in residence by taking a walk alone with his dog around 9 or 10 am, and at 10:30 am he looked at the mail that had been delivered by air or courier train. A noon situation briefing was convened in Keitel’s and Jodl’s bunker and frequently ran for two hours. This was followed by lunch at 2 pm 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.

After lunch, Hitler dealt with non-military matters for the remainder of the afternoon. Coffee was served around 5 pm, followed by a second military briefing by Jodl at 6 pm. Dinner could also last as long as two hours, beginning at 7:30 pm, after which films were shown in the cinema. Hitler then retired to his private quarters where he gave monologues to his entourage, including the two female secretaries who had accompanied him to the Wolf’s Lair. Occasionally, Hitler and his entourage listened to gramophone records of Beethoven symphonies, selections from Wagner or other operas, or German lieder.

Notable Visitors

Antonescu, Ion: marshal of Romania

Boris III of Bulgaria: tsar of Bulgaria

Bose, Subhas Chandra: independence politician from India

Bozhilov, Dobri: prime minister of Bulgaria in ‘43–44

Ciano, Galeazzo: minister of foreign affairs, Italy

Csatay von Csatai, Lajos: general, ministry of war, Hungary

Gailani, Rashid Ali al: former prime minister Iraq

Gariboldi, Italo: general, Italy

Graziani, Rodolfo: marshal, Italy

Horthy, Miklós: regent, Hungary

Jany, Gusztáv: general, Hungary

Kállay, Miklós: prime minister, Hungary

Koburg, Kiril: prince of Bulgaria and Preslav, tsar successor, Bulgaria

Kvaternik, Slavko: commander and minister of armed forces, Croatia

Laval, Pierre: prime minister of Vichy regime, France

Lukash, Konstantin: general, chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army, Bulgaria

Luukkonen, Fanni: army colonel, leader of the voluntary auxiliary organization for women, Finland

Mannerheim, Carl Gustaf: military leader and statesman, Finland

Finat y Escrivá de Romaní Mayalde, José: Conde de Mayalde, ambassador to Third Reich, Spain

Michov, Nikola: general, minister of war, Bulgaria

Moscardó Ituarte, José: general, Spain

Mussolini, Benito: il Duce, Italy

Nedić, Milan: general and prime minister of Serbia

Öhquist, Harald: lieutenant general of Finland

Ōshima, Hiroshi: general, ambassador to Third Reich, Japan

Pavelić, Ante: Poglavnik (“Head”) of Croatia

Tiso, Jozef: Roman Catholic priest and President of Slovakia

Toydemir, Cemil Cahit: general, Turkey

Assassination Attempt

In July 1944, an attempt was made to kill Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair which became known as the 20 July plot. It was organized by a group of acting and retired Heer officers and some civilians who wanted to remove Hitler in order to establish a new government in Germany. After several failed attempts to kill him, the Wolf’s Lair was chosen as a viable location, despite its security. Staff officer Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg would carry a briefcase bomb into a daily conference meeting and place it just a few feet away from Hitler.

The location was changed to a briefing building (Lagebaracke) on the day of the strategy meeting due to the reconstruction of the Führer Bunker in mid-1944. Stauffenberg’s assassination attempt was unsuccessful because of this alternate venue, along with several other factors, such as Hitler unexpectedly calling the meeting earlier than anticipated. The bomb exploded at 12:43 pm; the interior of the building was devastated, but Hitler was only slightly injured. Four people died from their wounds a few days later.

Before the bomb detonated, Stauffenberg and his adjutant Lieutenant Werner von Haeften had already begun to leave the Wolfsschanze in order to return to Berlin. 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 guard house at the perimeter of Sperrkreis 2. According to the official RSHA report, “at first the guard refused passage until Stauffenberg persuaded him to contact the adjutant to the compound commander who then finally authorized clearance”. It was between here and the final checkpoint of Sperrkreis 3 that Haeften tossed another briefcase from the car containing an unused second bomb. The two men reached the outer limit of the Wolfsschanze security zones and were allowed to catch their plane back to army general headquarters in Berlin.

The attempted assassination of Hitler at the Wolf Lair was part of Operation Valkyrie, a covert plan to take control and suppress any revolt in the German Reich following Hitler’s death. News arrived from the Wolf’s Lair that Hitler was still alive, and troops loyal to the Nazi regime quickly re-established control of key government buildings. Von Stauffenberg, his adjutant Werner von Haeften, and several co-conspirators were arrested and shot the same evening outside the Bendlerblock in Berlin.

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

Demise 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 20 November when the Soviet advance reached Angerburg (now Węgorzewo), 15 kilometers (9.3 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 Vistula–Oder Offensive. Tons of explosives were used; one bunker required an estimated 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) of TNT. Most of the buildings were only partially destroyed due to their immense size and reinforced structures.

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. It took until 1955 to clear over 54,000 land mines that surrounded the installation.

The area was cleared of abandoned ordnance such as land mines following the war, and the entire site was left to decay by Poland’s Communist government. The Wolf’s Lair has been developed as a tourist attraction since the Fall of Communism in the early 1990s. Visitors can make day trips from Warsaw or Gdańsk. Hotels and restaurants have grown up near the site. Plans have periodically been proposed to restore the area, including the installation of historical exhibits.

Wolf’s Lair (Wolfsschanze): Part of Führerhauptquartiere; Gierłoż Forest, Kętrzyn County, present-day Poland

Type: Blast-resistant camouflaged concrete bunkers

Owner: Polish Government

Controlled by: Wilcze Gniazdo

Open to the public: Yes

Condition: Mostly destroyed (in ruins)

Built: 1941 (completed on 21 June 1941)

Built by: Hochtief AG; Organization Todt

In use: 3½ years

Materials: 2 m (6 ft 7 in) steel-reinforced concrete

Fate: Partially demolished by retreating German forces 24–25 January 1945

Events: 20 July Plot

Past commanders: SS-Gruppenführer Johann Rattenhuber

Garrison: Reichssicherheitsdienst; Führerbegleitbrigade

Occupants: Adolf Hitler; Government of Nazi Germany; Oberkommando der Wehrmacht

The Dates Of Hitler’s Stays In Wolf’s Lair

24 June 1941 – 16 July 1942

1 November 1942 – 7 November 1942

23 November 1942 – 17 February 1943

13 March 1943 – 19 March 1943

9 May 1943 – 21 May 1943

1 July 1943 -18 July 1943

20 July 1943 – 27 February 1944

14 July 1944 – 20 November 1944

Bibliography

Kershaw, Ian (2000). Hitler, 1936–45. New York: W.W. Norton.

Speer, Albert, "Inside the Third Reich", New York and Toronto: Macmillan, 1970, p. 217.

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. Putnam's sons, 1989.

The location of those in Wolfsschanze on July 20, 1944: 1. Adolf Hitler 2. Generalleutnant Adolf Heusinger 3. General Günther Korten 4. Oberst Heinz Brandt 5. General Karl Bodenschatz 6. Oberstleutnant Heinz Waizenegger 7. Generalleutnant Rudolf Schmundt 8. Oberstleutnant Heinrich Borgmann 9. General Walther Buhle 10. Konteradmiral Karl Jesko von Puttkamer 11. Stenograph Heinrich Berger 12. Kapitän z.S. Heinz Aßmann 13. Major Ernst John von Freyend 14. Generalmajor Walter Scherff 15. Konteradmiral Hans-Erich Voß 16. SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche 17. Oberst Nicolaus von Below 18. SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein 19. Stenograf Heinz Buchholz 20. Major Herbert Büchs 21. Ministerialdirigent Franz von Sonnleithner 22. General Walter Warlimont 23. Generaloberst Alfred Jodl 24. Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel.

Map of Wolf’s Lair: 1. Office and barracks of Hitler’s bodyguard 2. RSD command center 3. Emergency generator 4. Bunker 5. Office of Otto Dietrich, Hitler’s press secretary 6. Conference room, site of the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt 7. RSD command post 8. Guest bunker and air-raid shelter 9. RSD command post 10. Secretariat under Philipp Bouhler 11. Headquarters of Johann Rattenhuber, SS chief of Hitler’s security department, and Post Office 12. Radio and telex buildings 13. Vehicle garages 14. Railway siding for Hitler’s Train 15. Cinema 16. Generator buildings 17. Quarters of Morell, Bodenschatz, Hewel, Voß, Wolff, and Fegelein 18. Stores 19. Residence of Martin Bormann, Hitler’s personal secretary 20. Bormann’s personal air-raid shelter for himself and staff 21. Office of Hitler’s adjutant and the Wehrmacht’s personnel office 22. Military and staff mess II 23. Quarters of General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Operations of OKW 24. Firefighting pond 25. Office of the Foreign Ministry 26. Quarters of Fritz Todt, then Albert Speer after Todt’s death 27. RSD command post 28. Air-raid shelter with Flak and MG units on the roof 29. Hitler’s bunker and air-raid shelter 30. New tea room 31. Residence of General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, supreme commander of OKW 32. Old tea house 33. Residence of Reich Marshal Hermann Göring 34. Göring’s personal air-raid shelter for himself and staff, with Flak and MG on the roof 35. Offices of the High Command of the Air Force 36. Offices of the High command of the Navy 37. Bunker with Flak 38. Ketrzyn railway line.

Hitler with Speer and Keitel at Wolfsschanze, February-March 1942.

Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, Field Marshal Mannerheim and Hitler at Wolfsschanze.

This photo is claimed to have been taken at Wolfsschanze sometime in 1941-42. Front row: SS-Obergruppenführer Otto Dietrich — Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel — Adolf Hitler — Generaloberst Alfred Jodl — Martin Bormann — Oberst der Luftwaffe Nicolaus von Below — Heinrich Hoffmann. Middle row: Wilhelm Brückner — Generalmajor Karl Bodenschatz — General der Infanterie Rudolf Schmundt — SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff —Dr. Theo Morell — SS-Obersturmbannführer Hans-Georg Schulze. Rear row: Major Gerhard Engel — Dr. Karl Brandt — ? — ? — Walter Hewel — ? — SS-Gruppenführer Julius Schaub — SS-Hauptsturmführer Max Wünsche.

Left to right: Oberst Werner Mölders, Keitel, Hitler and Göring, at Wolfsschanze, July 1941.

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler views a presentation album entitled “Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung 1941” at Wolfsschanze. Left to right: unknown, Heinrich Hoffmann, Richard Schulze-Kossens, Himmler, and Karl Wolff.

Hitler meeting Reich Commissioner Robert Ley, automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche, and Reichsminister Hermann Göring at the Wolfsschanze in 1942.

Hitler and Speer, Wolfsschanze, March 23, 1942.

Speer and Hitler, Wolfsschanze, June 1942.

Speer (right) awarded an Org.Todt ring by Hitler, Wolfsschanze, May 1943.

Göring with Hitler and Albert Speer, Wolfsschanze , 10 August 1943.

Award of the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross to Colonel Dr. med. dent. Walter Lange at Wolfsschanze. From left, Adolf Hitler, Paul Schultz (hidden), Lange, Major Theodor Tolsdorff, Colonel Günther Pape, Major Dr. Franz Bäke. 15 September 1943.

Adolf Hitler awards Michael Wittmann with the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross, Wolfsschanze, January 30, 1944.

The Henschel Tiger prototype at Wolf’s Lair.

Claus von Stauffenberg (far left) meeting Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze five days before the 20 July plot in 1944.

The view of destroyed interior of briefing room in Hitler’s Wolfsschanze headquarters near Rastenburg (Ketrzyn) in East Prussia. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring surveys the conference room destroyed by the suitcase bomb left by Claus von Stauffenberg on 20 July 1944. From left to right, Heinz Linge, Martin Bormann, Julius Schaub, Hermann Göring, Bruno Loerzer, unknown.

Another view of the damage at Wolfsschanze.

Hitler shows Mussolini the damage at Wolfsschanze.

A soldier holding the trousers Hitler wore during the failed assassination attempt.

SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef “Sepp” Dietrich receives the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds from Hitler. From left to right: Hitler, SS-Gruppenführer und der Generalleutnant Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein, Dietrich, SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche, SS-Sturmbannführer Heinrich “Hein” Springer. Wolfsschanze, August 10, 1944.

General der Panzertruppe Hermann Balck receives the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds from Hitler. From left to right: Generaloberst Josef Harpe, Balck, ?, Oberstleutnant Erik von Amsberg, Hitler, Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, SS-Hauptsturm-führer Otto Günsche. Wolfsschanze, September 21, 1944.

One of the destroyed heavy bunkers. June 1946.

De-mining the Wolf’s Lair. June 1946.

Mines gathered while de-mining the Wolf’s Lair. June 1946.

Hitler’s reinforced bunker at the Wolfsschanze.

Wolfsschanze, one of Adolf Hitler’s headquarters during World War II. Enormous amounts of explosives were used by the retreating Germans to blow up the Wolfsschanze bunkers on the night January 24/25, 1945. Here the explosion has lifted a bunker’s roof, made of solid ferro-concrete two meters thick.