''Anlage Süd'' (English: ''Installation South'') was a pair of railway headquarters built for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

in the Nazi-occupied part of southern Poland during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Two reinforced tunnels were built near the rail line between

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

and

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesse ...

. The first massive train bunker (with adjacent conference bunker) was located in the village of Stępina (45 km southwest of Rzeszów), and the other was in the town of

Strzyżów Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzesz ...

(30 km southwest of Rzeszów).

location They were initially used for a two-day meeting between Hitler and Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, on 27–28 August 1941.

Bunkers

Both 480-metre long railway tunnels at Stępina and Strzyżów were built by the Todt Organization using Polish slave labor from nearby concentration camps. The shelters were constructed to be wide and high with reinforced concrete walls thick. The tunnels were surrounded by barracks, personnel bunkers, and watchtowers. Other buildings were used for operations, administration, and maintenance. Inside each bomb-proof tunnel, there was a rail track and a platform. The tunnel portals were protected by two-wing armoured doors with firing embrasures for the guards. Purpose-built track connected the tunnels with the Rzeszów-Jasło railway.

Usage

After the headquarters was completed in summer 1941, Hitler first visited on 27 August for a meeting with Mussolini. Both leaders arrived by train. Hitler’s train (german: Führersonderzug) stayed in the bunker at Strzyżów while Mussolini's engine and carriages were at Stępina. The actual meeting to discuss the war with Soviet Russia, which lasted several hours, was held aboard Hitler’s train, which he never left. The next day, his train was the first to depart. Hitler revisited the bunkers once more by train in October 1941. Other prominent visitors to use Anlage Süd included

Reichsführer-SS (, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest rank of the SS. The longest-servi ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, Field Marshal

Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...

and

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Erwin Rommel. By the summer of 1944 the facilities were abandoned because of the Soviet advance. When the Russians captured the tunnels in August 1944 they used them as field hospitals. After the war, the Stępina bunker was used for mushroom production. Today it is a state museum.

References

External links

A photo of the bunker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anlage Sud World War II sites of Nazi Germany Fuehrer Headquarters World War II sites in Poland

Bunkers

Usage

See also

References

External links