Führerhauptquartier Tannenberg

Tannenberg was built during the preparations for the French campaign on the edge of a high moor-like clearing not far from the Alexanderschanze restaurant. Carried out by the Organisation Todt and several private subcontractors, construction began on October 1, 1939. It was not a new construction, but rather the expansion and extension of an already existing facility of the Westwall.

By July 1, 1940, in addition to the corresponding access roads, two bunkers with a total usable area of 275 m² and a barracks of 85 m² had been built. One bunker was intended to serve as accommodation for Hitler, while the other housed a telecommunications center. In addition, the existing accommodation buildings and shelters were expanded and extended. The Department of National Defense of the Wehrmacht High Command Office of the OKW took up quarters in the Hotel Alexanderschanze, about 2 kilometers away, which still exists. In total, 2,340 m³ of concrete were used by July 1, 1940. The labor input, with a weekly working time of 54 hours, corresponded to 43,750 man-days, where one man-day corresponds to the working time of one worker on one working day.

Hitler stayed in the Führerhauptquartier Tannenberg only once, from June 27 to July 5, 1940, after the triumph in France. He liked to appear in public, among other things, visiting wounded soldiers in the Freudenstadt military hospital, which earned the city little sympathy years later when the French advanced.

His arrival and the associated relocation from the previous location Wolfsschlucht to Kniebis were announced by a visit from the commander of the FHQ and the chief adjutant of the Wehrmacht on June 16, 1940. Nine days later, on June 25, 1940, the individual groups of the Supreme Leadership arrived in Tannenberg. During his stay, Hitler made excursions from here to the neighboring Alsace. He also received numerous guests, including the Italian ambassador Alfieri, as well as Baldur von Schirach, Josef Bürckel, Arthur Seyß-Inquart, Reichsminister Lammers, Goebbels, and Josef Terboven.

On July 2, 1940, Hitler edited the "Final Report of the OKW on the Campaign in the West," drafted by Alfred Jodl, in Tannenberg. On the same day, the Chief of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff also presented Hitler with the first drafts and plans for an invasion of Great Britain. At noon on July 5, 1940, Hitler left Tannenberg. The Führer Escort Battalion, which was responsible for his protection, was also withdrawn and transferred to the Führerhauptquartier Kehlsteinhaus (Adlerhorst) to prepare it for Operation Seelöwe, which was abandoned in 1941. Only a small guard detachment remained in Tannenberg. In November 1940, the facility was taken over by the Stuttgart Military District Command and used as a command post until the end of March 1945.

In early April 1945, units of the V US Corps reached Tannenberg, which German pioneers had blown up a few days earlier. In 1946 and 1947, many remnants were removed, and the rubble served the population as building material for years. In the early 1960s, most of the remains of the former Führerhauptquartier Tannenberg were finally removed and the foundations of the buildings leveled. Today, only a few blown-up bunker and foundation remnants remain.