It would be impossible to complete this book without discussing the ambitious subterranean plans the Nazi’s endeavoured to carry out on the Obersalzberg. While we may be impressed with the scale of planning and building work carried out on the surface; what was conceived for below ground is almost beyond imagination. The scale and volume of tunnels and bunkers built to protect those residing on the Obersalzberg is quite staggering. Work on this underground labyrinth began as early as 1940 when Hermann Göring initiated the building of an air-raid shelter beneath his Obersalzberg home. Göring wanted to ensure adequate protection for his family in the event of an Allied air-raid; not to mention having a secure place to store part of his vast art and antiques collection. When completed, Göring’s bunker (H on map) had over a dozen luxurious rooms and connected with his nearby adjutancy.
As the tide of war began to turn against Germany, Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer- SS, in 1943 issued orders for the ‘enlargement of’ and ‘addition to’ those already existing anti-aircraft installations in the area. The enormous task of constructing the tunnel/bunker system beneath the Obersalzberg finally got underway in August 1943. From the outset the plans stipulated that there should be easy access to the bunker system from each of the homes of the Nazi hierarchy situated on the mountainside. The work was overseen by a team made up of both SS and civilian architects, engineers and geologists. A workforce of over 3,000 men was employed on the project. Two-thirds of these were Czechs and Italians. While there were cases of forced labour on projects carried out around Berchtesgaden; those employed on the Obersalzberg were paid workers, and reasonably well treated. However as time passed more foreign workers were brought in. To ensure that work never stopped, labourers worked in shifts round the clock. The conditions below ground were terrible, and as the war dragged on the daily food ration was little better than meagre. Bormann would make unannounced surprise visits to the worksites to check that schedules were being adhered to; anyone thought to be slacking faced punishment.
Entertainment for the Obersalzberg workers with enough energy left at the end of the working day consisted of films and shows put on in the Theatre Hall. Additional ‘entertainment’ was provided in a brothel at Unterau. Martin Bormann, concerned by the large number of foreign workers in the area, was anxious to ensure that local German women were not subjected to the unwelcome attentions of these workers. In an effort to prevent this, a brothel, solely for the use of foreign workers, was established in 1937. The ‘P-Baracke’ (P-Barracks) as it was called, was constructed on the Gartenauer Insel near Unterau; about 6 kilometres (4 miles) from the Obersalzberg. By 1938 some twenty girls, mainly French and Italian, were working in the ‘P-Barracks’. These girls were subjected to regular medical checks. The former brothel building was finally torn down in 1977.
The tunnels on the Obersalzberg were to be equipped with numerous safety measures. In addition to basic necessities such as electric power, drainage and water supplies; systems for ventilation, heating and dehumidification were also installed. Additionally, effective measures to counter the introduction of poisonous gas into the ventilation system were included. In the event of the external power supply being interrupted, diesel submarine engines had been installed in the tunnels to provide independent power; to that end, large underground tanks were built to store the necessary fuel. Furthermore, Bormann ordered that all thirty access points must be protected by machine-gun positions. These machine-gun posts were sited so as to give the defenders every advantage. The bulk of the tunnels were constructed on two levels. The upper levels were for everyday activity, while the lower levels accommodated miles of electric and communications cables, ducting for ventilation and heating, assorted pipe-work and storage areas stocked with food supplies and ammunition.