BOMB CELLARS

Evening Star, Issue 23123, 24 November 1938, Page 8

BOMB CELLARS

BUILT FOR HITLER NEW BERLIN CHANCELLERY Heads that bear, a crown rest uneasily at times—but their worries are small compared to those of dictators, radioed John Dickson from Copenhagen to the ‘ Chicago Tribune ’ recently. Occasionally one learns details of the vast machinery being used to protect • Mussolini and Josef Stalin. Little is known, however, of the secret measures taken to protect Reichsfuhrer Hitler of Germany, though they rival in efficiency those taken for other dictators. The newly-built Chancellery in Berlin can be described as a fortress. Its bomproof cellars reach far down into the earth and are equipped with all modern conveniences—including bathrooms and high-grade air conditioning unknown in other German buildings. There are special elevators connecting with the kitchen of the chancellery to provide food. In addition emergency rations are packed in vast pantries. The new festival halls, which Hitler added to the chancellery ■which fulfilled the needs of Germany’s Iron Chancellor, Prince von Bismarck, provide space for 3,000 guests. Under these halls are three bomb-proofed cellars to shelter the Chief of State and his aides. The new building has a hidden bombproof roof. The top layer of the roof is made of a new variety of glass—about Sin thick, which is supposed to bo bombproof. Parts of this roof can be moved back—something like a horizontal shutter—allowing armoured turrets to emerge. They are similar to the pill-boxes in fortification lines along the German border. EQUIPPED WITH GUNS. These turrets are equipped with machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, and a sound-detecting outfit. While the new chancellery was being built, observers could see a tremendous iron structure being incorporated into the facade on the Voss street side of the building. The structure is topped by a crane which, in case of emergency, can be used to raise or lower artillery and ammunition to and from the roof of the chancellery. Nazis realise that the day may come when the Chief of State will want to leave his headquarters rapidly, without being seen by those surrounding the chancellery. A special tunnel connects with the nearby subway. Worker's are building an additional tunnel connecting the subw’ay in the west end of Berlin with the Avus, the automobile speedway leading out of Berlin. Hitler’s bodyguards are well-known figures in modern Germany. They appear in their black uniforms with white belts and trimmings at gala festivities. In time of emergencies they appear in field grey, very similar to that of the German soldiers. The 6.5. P (secret police) has an entire department responsible for the personal safety of the Fulmer. What is more, there is an extra service supervising the telephone calls wherever Hitler goes. This is in addition to the G.S.P. wire-tappers. They report directly to the Fulmer, INCONSPICUOUS GUARDS. Hitler ; does not want his guards to be visible. The Begleitmannschaft, or the accompanying crew, is the only groupi whose presence he accepts. He insists that members of his Sicherheitsdieust, or safety service, be inconspicuous. Besides the safety service, on duty wherever Hitler goes, is the national safety service, which, it is estimated, numbers about 5,000 men. A former major of gendarmes, Rattenhuber, commands this body. He ranks as Standartenfuhrer, or the equivalent of a colonel in tne Hitler Guards. When Hitler is in Berghof, his residence on the Obersalzberg, in Bavaria, many officials are stationed in the neighbourhood with their staffs. Wide areas of land near the Obersalzberg have been purchased to ensure the “ privacy ” of the Fulmer and to provide sites for anti-aircraft guns. The Untersberg, a mountain near the Berghof, has been excavated and turned into a giant bomb-proof cellar, which will bo a safe refuge should a conflict break out. The method used by the Germans to build their bombproof cellars can be watched in the various centres of Berlin, where new official and semi-official buildings are being erected. The building of the General Dye Trust, for instance, will have about four underground floors. The layers between the floors are not closely packed, but are loose and somewhat elastic. Should an average bomb hit the floor, it would not do much damage, because its exploding parts would find space in the looselypacked layers.