BERLIN RETREAT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 14 April 1939, Page 6

BERLIN RETREAT

HITLER AND OTHERS BOMB-PROOF CELLARS 65 FEET BELOW CHANCELLERY ROOF GUN EMPLACEMENTS LONDON. 16th March. According to the Berlin correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.” air protection cellars,” intended for the use of Herr Hitler, his entourage and members of til? Civil Service, are being constructed beneath the new Reich Chancellery. In spite of the fact that the new Chancellery is row in use fer administrative and social purposes, several hundred workmen are still busy constructing the subterranean portions of the building set within and without the foundations of the Chancellery itself.

Below the central section of the huge new block and beyond it under the gardens runs an elaborate system of concrete garages which could hold more than 200 cars. Under the garages lie air raid shelters designed to accommodate several thousand persons.

These are situated at a depth equivalent to two or three storeys below the ground level, according to the portion of the building underneath which they are situated. The average depth beneath the surface is approximately 65ft. AIR-CONDITIONING PLANT The cellars are furnished with the most modern and up-to-date technical equipment, including ventilation and air-conditioning plants, electric kitchens for the preparation of drinks and refreshments and first-aid rooms, the latter having the appearance of small operating theatres.

The refuges intended for Herr Hitler and his entourage in the event of danger are under that part of the new Chancellery which abuts on the Wilhelmstrasse. They are similarly equipped and are at a similar depth to the other refuges.

The protective cellars of the Chancellery are connected by a subterranean passage beneath the Voss-strasse with those of the Ministry of Communications on the other side of the street. Air raid cellars were provided here only a few weeks ago. when the windows in the basement were filled in with bricks and cement and the walls reinforced with ferro-concrete.

It is understood that it is intended to extend the cellars of the Ministry of Communications until they reach halfway across the Voss-strasse. If this were done these shelters alone would be able to accommodate about 1500 people. ANTI-AIRCRAFT CRANES An aerial attack on the new Chancellery would be fraught with considerable difficulty owing to the fact that the building is the hub of Berlin s antiaircraft defences. Gun emplacements have been constructed on the roof, and small cranes have been fitted for haul-

ing guns into position as soon as it is thought necessary.

Similar emplacements are located ali round the Wilhelmstresse area, notably on the roofs of prominent buildings such as that of the German Dye Trust.

The Chancellery itself, being constructed of enormously heavy stone blocks and solid marble, would presumably be particularly resistant to the effects of high explosives.