Haus der Offiezere
My first report. I have had this account for about a year but never posted anything from fear of my photos not being good enough to post. Decided to pluck up the courage to start contributing more but I apologise if there are any mistakes. Anyway, on to the history!
History
The Haus der Offiezere was originally established as a shooting range between Kummersdorf and Jüterbog in 1888. It wasn't until 1910, when construction of the Berlin to Dresden railway line took place, it was decided that Wunsdorf held a significant strategic advantage and because of this it became a military headquarters two years following. A telephone and telegraph office was built in 1912. By the start of the first world war, Wunsdorf had already become Europe's largest military base, boasting 60,000 acres of land. A year later, the first mosque was built in Germany on the site. This was to accommodate for the Muslim prisoners of war which were housed there. They were known as the Halbmondlager or Crescent Moon camp.
After the war, the Wunsdorf Headquarters was converted into a military sports school in 1919. It was even used to train athletes for the Olympic games in Berlin in 1936. During the uprising of the Third Reich, a network of highly modernised tunnels and bunkers were built, including a communications centre, known as the Zeppelin. A year Maybach I and II were built which coincided with the Zeppelin bunker. A ring tunnel connected all the bunkers to each other and were disguised as ordinary homes on the ground, to avoid suspicion. The construction of these bunkers wasn't completed until 1940, a year after war was declared. From 1943 the Haus der Offiezere was temporarily converted into a hospital to treat wounded German soldiers.
Two years later, in 1945 the Red Army had invaded East Germany and quickly seized control of Wunsdorf. This was when it was renamed the Haus der Offiezere which translates to House of the officer. During Soviet occupation of Wunsdorf in the GDR, the Haus der Offiezere became a place of art and culture. The former sports halls and gymnasiums were torn down and replaced with elaborate theatres and concert halls. Daily deliveries of supplies came all the way from Moscow on a direct train line and the locals nicknamed it 'little Moscow' due to the number of roughly 60,000 Russian inhabitants.
This continued for almost 50 years, until the reunification of Germany when it was handed back. The last remaining Russians eventually left in 1994 and it has remained unoccupied since.
Visit
The photos I have compiled for this post were taken on two separate occasions. Wanted to give a good representation of the location, as there is a lot to see. Unfortunately some of my photographs were taken when I first started getting into the hobby, so I hope they do enough justice and excuse the quality of said images. Second visit was on a solo trip to Germany, giving me plenty of time to mooch. Would consider the Haus der Offiezere one of my favourite locations and I hope you enjoy my report.
Externals
Internals
My first report. I have had this account for about a year but never posted anything from fear of my photos not being good enough to post. Decided to pluck up the courage to start contributing more but I apologise if there are any mistakes. Anyway, on to the history!
History
The Haus der Offiezere was originally established as a shooting range between Kummersdorf and Jüterbog in 1888. It wasn't until 1910, when construction of the Berlin to Dresden railway line took place, it was decided that Wunsdorf held a significant strategic advantage and because of this it became a military headquarters two years following. A telephone and telegraph office was built in 1912. By the start of the first world war, Wunsdorf had already become Europe's largest military base, boasting 60,000 acres of land. A year later, the first mosque was built in Germany on the site. This was to accommodate for the Muslim prisoners of war which were housed there. They were known as the Halbmondlager or Crescent Moon camp.
After the war, the Wunsdorf Headquarters was converted into a military sports school in 1919. It was even used to train athletes for the Olympic games in Berlin in 1936. During the uprising of the Third Reich, a network of highly modernised tunnels and bunkers were built, including a communications centre, known as the Zeppelin. A year Maybach I and II were built which coincided with the Zeppelin bunker. A ring tunnel connected all the bunkers to each other and were disguised as ordinary homes on the ground, to avoid suspicion. The construction of these bunkers wasn't completed until 1940, a year after war was declared. From 1943 the Haus der Offiezere was temporarily converted into a hospital to treat wounded German soldiers.
Two years later, in 1945 the Red Army had invaded East Germany and quickly seized control of Wunsdorf. This was when it was renamed the Haus der Offiezere which translates to House of the officer. During Soviet occupation of Wunsdorf in the GDR, the Haus der Offiezere became a place of art and culture. The former sports halls and gymnasiums were torn down and replaced with elaborate theatres and concert halls. Daily deliveries of supplies came all the way from Moscow on a direct train line and the locals nicknamed it 'little Moscow' due to the number of roughly 60,000 Russian inhabitants.
This continued for almost 50 years, until the reunification of Germany when it was handed back. The last remaining Russians eventually left in 1994 and it has remained unoccupied since.
Visit
The photos I have compiled for this post were taken on two separate occasions. Wanted to give a good representation of the location, as there is a lot to see. Unfortunately some of my photographs were taken when I first started getting into the hobby, so I hope they do enough justice and excuse the quality of said images. Second visit was on a solo trip to Germany, giving me plenty of time to mooch. Would consider the Haus der Offiezere one of my favourite locations and I hope you enjoy my report.
Externals
Internals
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