This video is sponsored by Wondrium, a museum for your mind with over 6,000 hours of video
courses from trusted, inspiring experts and non-fiction storytellers.
Click on the link in the description to get started with your free trial today!
When people think of Hitler’s headquarters, they usually think of the Eagle’s Nest.
The mountaintop headquarters has become a popular tourist site, as people come to see
the gathering place of some of history’s biggest monsters.
The one person who was not such a big fan?
Hitler.
The Nazi dictator didn’t like heights, and only visited it fourteen times.
His choice in headquarters was lower.
More hidden.
More fortified.
Hidden in the woods over five miles from the nearest town of Rasteburg, it doesn’t even
lie in modern-day Germany.
Once Prussia, now Poland, those who make the pilgrimage could almost miss it.
Today it lies covered in moss and ringed by trees, a relic of a time gone by.
But those who get close will find an impressive sight.
A massive stone fortress, it has the distinctive name “The Wolf’s Lair”.
Why?
Because Hitler, never shy to proclaim his own superiority, had taken on “Wolf” as
a nickname and liked to litter it through his various headquarters around Europe.
And he was unsatisfied with his current choices of hideaways, especially with the war raging
in 1940.
And in 1940, he ordered his party machine to start construction on a new headquarters,
far from the chaos of the war.
And it would be massive.
The Organization Todt, Hitler’s civilian and military engineering organization, was
quickly put to work - and so were the large collection of forced laborers they commanded.
The plans were drawn up, and the total complex would be around two and a half square miles
in size.
With three security zones, it would be connected to civilization by a nearby airfield and rail
line, but only those in the know would be aware.
Because if the Wolf’s Lair had one thing going for it, it was camouflage.
The forest provided its own form of camouflage, with thick trees, bushes, and grass making
it hard to see what was beyond the horizon.
But that was nothing compared to what would be added around the Wolf’s Lair.
Artificial trees would be erected around the complex and on top of the buildings, making
it look like part of the forest from the air.
Buildings would be connected with dense netting, so approaching soldiers wouldn’t be able
to see that much of the forest had been carved out for the massive fortress.
And that was nothing compared to what was going on inside.
The Wolf’s Lair was known for its three security zones, each built in a concentric
circle.
Each military one had a unique purpose, and the first Security Zone was at the heart of
the compound.
All it took was one look at the facility to know no one was getting in if they weren’t
supposed to be there.
Surrounded by steel fences, the zone was guarded by high-ranking SS officers and managed by
some of Hitler’s closest allies.
Inside, camouflaged bunkers made from concrete reinforced with steel would hold Hitler and
his inner circle for military conferences and when hiding from allied forces.
Hitler’s specific quarters were built on the northern side, so they would never even
be hit by revealing sunlight.
The other zones served two purposes.
The second zone surrounded Hitler’s inner circle, and it was a place of refuge for high-ranking
allies of Hitler including Albert Speer and the master of the Organization Todt, Fritz
Todt.
While it served as living quarters, the fortified area was also filled with military barracks,
and all those who were within knew they were potentially the barrier between the allies
and Hitler - and might be called upon to defend it.
But if the place was designed properly, the enemy would never reach it.
Security Zone three encircled the other two, and it had one purpose - repel all invaders.
Heavily fortified, it was surrounded by landmines and dotted with watchtowers and checkpoints.
And overseeing the whole thing was the Fuhrerbegleitbrigade, a powerful armored unit of the Wehrmacht that
was often assigned to personally escort Hitler.
The exterior of the complex was also guarded by a local Army unit, and they were equipped
with tanks and anti-aircraft guns.
If anyone got too close to the Wolf’s Lair, they would likely find themselves overwhelmed
- even if they had no clue what they had gotten too close to.
And they would have good reason for the security.
By the time the Wolf’s Lair was completed in June 1941, it was harder to list which
countries Hitler hadn’t invaded.
The Nazi leader had conquered much of western Europe, including France, and was at war with
Great Britain.
While Germany and Russia had been allies, that was about to end - only one day after
the lair was completed, Hitler began invading the massive Soviet Union.
He was the most wanted man in the world, and at the same time as he launched a new front
in the war, he moved into his massive bunker.
It would become his de facto capitol on the Eastern Front, and it would be far more than
just a hideout.
Because Hitler spared no expense.
The Wolf’s Lair wasn’t just a bunker - it became Hitler’s primary living quarters
during the height of the war.
The dictator had requested amenities that would be more at home in a high-end hotel.
He had access to a barbershop, because that distinctive moustache didn’t shape itself
every morning.
He would dine on the finest cuisine at an on-site restaurant.
He even had a personal casino for himself and his inner circle, when it wasn’t enough
to gamble on the lives of millions of soldiers in Russia.
But if you thought he enjoyed it...maybe think twice.
As the war front grew and the United States got involved in the war after the bombing
of Pearl Harbor, Hitler became increasingly unstable, erratic, and paranoid.
The dictator became obsessed with the idea that he was being targeted, and even suspected
many of his closest inner circle.
As the war raged on, the staff and regulars at the Wolf’s Lair grew.
While many bunkers only housed a skeleton crew, the Wolf’s Lair needed guards, engineers,
and staff to attend to Hitler’s every wish.
At its height, the facilities housed a massive two thousand people - all of whom were subject
to Hitler’s fast changing whims.
He had a routine - and he did not want it disturbed.
During most times, Hitler was predictable.
He would take his daily walk with his dog, then look at the mail that had been funneled
in by plane or train.
He would meet with his military advisors,and then go for a run before lunch.
He would sit in the same seat every day, between Alfred Jodl and Otto Deitrich, before adjourning
to deal with non-military matters.
Coffee would follow, after which there would be more military briefings.
But there was one area of the day when Hitler was most paranoid.
Hitler was convinced someone was plotting to kill him - and he was probably right, but
they might not have been in the bunker.
But that didn’t stop him from becoming obsessed with the idea that his food was being poisoned.
He was served elaborate vegetarian meals in the on-site restaurant, but before he would
take a bite, he insisted that the staffers taste it before he did.
Whether there was a risk or not, Hitler was so convinced that he was being targeted that
the staff became paranoid as well - many weeping with relief when they didn’t die after their
job as tasters.
There were brief moments of peace in this headquarters of evil.
When the day’s business would end, Hitler’s bunker almost became a party.
After dinner, everyone would retire to the on-site movie theater where films were shown
to the entire crowd.
Afterwards, Hitler and his inner circle would retreat to his private room.
They would listen to music - usually his favorite Wagner or Beethoven music.
But above all, Hitler loved to hear himself talk, and would frequently give elaborate
monologues to those closest to him.
But Danger was lurking, and the Nazi leader was looking in the wrong direction.
The Wolf’s Lair was supposed to be safe - and it was, from outside enemies.
But Hitler had made many enemies in his inner circle.
His paranoia, erratic behavior, and genocidal obsession with purging Germany of those he
deemed undesirable had made many in the military see him as an unfit leader.
By 1944, the German army was the underdog in the war, and military officers were discussing
if the only way to save the German war effort was to eliminate its leader.
A group of officers decided to assassinate Hitler and install a new, military-centric
Government that would turn the tide of the war.
But to get to Hitler, they would have to strike at his inner sanctum.
Hitler had been well-protected from the outside, but he was vulnerable to those he let in.
One of those was Staff Officer Claus Von Stauffenberg, a decorated war hero, who had access to the
daily conference meeting.
He would bring a briefcase bomb into the meeting, place it near Hitler, and get clear in time.
It would be the closest anyone got to assassinating Hitler - but close was no cigar.
From the moment the day of the assassination began, things started to go wrong.
It all built to an explosive end.
Von Stauffenberg’s plan was thrown off when the meeting was moved to a different room,
as the Wolf’s Lair bunker was under construction.
The new room was unfamiliar, and von Stauffenberg ran into more trouble when the meeting was
called earlier than expected.
The bomb was placed, but it was moved slightly before it went off - and when it blew, Hitler
was only lightly wounded, although four people in the meeting died as a result of their injuries.
Hitler survived, but his inner sanctum had been pierced.
It was the beginning of the end.
The assassination attempt and the associated Operation Valkyrie had failed, and collaborators
were quickly arrested and many were executed.
But the Wolf’s Lair was about to face a much bigger problem.
Hitler had learned the hard way what Napoleon learned a century earlier - invading Russia
rarely goes well.
The German invasion had run into rough waters, and now the Russians were turning the tide.
The Red Army was on the march and by October 1944, they reached the borders of East Prussia.
They soon came across the Wolf’s Lair, but Hitler had abandoned it, heading towards his
final bunker in the last days of the war.
But the Russians wanted to make an example of his complex.
The order was given to bring it down, and it would be no easy task.
The fortified bunkers were not meant to be destroyed from outside, but that didn’t
deter the Russians.
They brought in a whopping 18,000 pounds of TNT and detonated it in January 1945.
The whole area shook, the smoke cleared - and much of the building was still standing!
Hitler had led his country to ruin, but taking down his favorite bunker was proving to be
less possible than toppling his regime.
And that wasn’t the only reason it was difficult to take down.
The Red Army soon found that clearing the many land mines surrounding the installation
would be challenging.
In total, 54,000 land mines would be removed from the area surrounding the complex, a testament
to just how fortified it was - and how paranoid Hitler was that anyone would penetrate it.
And even today, Hitler’s massive complex still stands.
The area of the Wolf’s Lair was initially taken over by the post-war government of Poland,
and fell into disrepair.
But when the communist government fell in the 1990s, the new government saw potential
for something else - a tourist site.
The ruins draw almost 300,000 visitors a year, and is surrounded by hotels and restaurants.
There have even been proposals to rebuild it to make it safer and more attractive to
tourists.
But that’s raised some questions about what the appropriate way to handle the legacy of
a monster is.
Should the site be razed to avoid it becoming a gathering site for Hitler’s remaining
fans?
But today, the Wolf’s Lair still stands as a testament to the massive war machine
Hitler built - and how ultimately, it was still doomed just like his regime.
Thanks again to Wondrium for sponsoring today’s video!
You’ve heard me talk about The Great Courses Plus before, and the folks behind The Great
Courses have created something even bigger and better than before that’s going to give
you even more reasons to love learning!
At Wondrium you can find the answer to virtually anything you’ve ever wondered about!
They have a carefully curated collection of tutorials, how-to’s, documentaries, and
much more that are all presented by the most engaging experts.
I’ve been watching the series “Mind-Blowing Science” from Scientific American, and I
can tell you that the name perfectly describes what happens to me as I watch each video.
It covers everything from whether we’re the only intelligent life in the galaxy to
why Neanderthals started painting on cave walls.
It’s seriously mind blowing.
So if you’ve ever wondered about anything, then I know Wondrium will be your new favorite
place.
And they’re giving Infographics Show viewers a great offer of a FREE trial!
Show your support for my show by subscribing to Wondrium now.
Seriously, your brain is going to love this place!
For another of Hitler’s most fortified bases, check out “Why Hitler Built a Mysterious
Mega Fortress” or watch this video instead.