Hitler’s Werewolf bunker: unexplored remnant of WWII

Final preparations are underway to mark Victory Day across Russia. But even decades after the end of WWII, some secrets from the war remain hidden.

­Anyone today can enjoy a good walk in the forest near the central Ukrainian town of Vinnitsa. The tranquility of the area masks well what lurked there seven decades ago. The peaceful woods were once the site of a top-secret and highly-guarded Nazi command center – the Werewolf bunker.

“It was a huge complex, which had everything Germany’s command could need. There was an officer’s club, a sauna, a gym, a swimming pool and barracks. Some sources claim it went seven floors underground. Above the ground there were several wooden houses including a casino,” explained Svyatoslav Greben, director of the Museum of Glory in Vinnitsa.

Adolf Hitler ordered the construction of the bunker to control the Nazi war-effort on the Eastern Front. It is believed the Nazi leader himself visited the bunker three times, with his personal swimming pool thought to be about the only thing to remain intact at the site. The rest of the huge complex was destroyed in March 1944.

The main entrance to the bunker was blown up by the retreating German forces. When Soviet troops arrived, they went inside the facility and realized it was rigged with explosives. They took no chances and blew up the other two entrances, burying the Werewolf’s secrets forever.

To this day, it is not known what remains underground, as no one has ever managed to get inside the Nazi-era facility since the war. Many attempts have been made to gain access, but all have failed: the walls are massively thick, and the site is still restricted.