Strange Towers of the Third Reich
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"QUANTUM SHOT" #48Not just phallic symbols of power;
they actually served a practical purpose.
These concrete towers were unique AIR RAID SHELTERS of Nazi Germany, built to withstand the destructive power of WWII bombs and heavy artillery. Their cone shape caused bombs to slide down the walls and detonate only at a heavily fortified base.
Cheaper to build above ground than to dig bunkers, they were quite effective, as it was possible to cram as many as 500 people inside. Plus the "footprint" of such tower was very small when observed from the air, so it was very hard for the bombers to ensure a direct hit.

First appearing in 1936, they were quickly dubbed "cigarette stubbs" or "sugar beet heads". Officially they were called Winkeltürme (Winkel Towers)- after their architect Leo Winkel of Duisburg. Winkel patented his design in 1934, and in the following years Germany built 98 Winkeltürme of five different types.

(photos courtesy Vincent Srdj Brown)
Hitler was quite impressed by Winkel's concept and blueprints, and ordered full engineering and production support. They were meant to be shelters for factory workers and railroad personnel, to be placed mostly in heavily industrial areas, such as Giessen.
Here is a cut-away view:

(image credit: Michael Grube, Lost Places.De)
Some towers could accommodate as many as 500 people, and consisted of several floors, twisted in a spiral:


(images credit: M. Niehues)
Every floor had some simple furniture:
(interior photos courtesy Michael Grube, Lost Places.De)

Entry was through a hatch door:

The shelter was secured with a heavy lock:


"The Winkelturm in Stuttgart, a Type 2, is in the Feuerbach rail area. The cone shape was designed to defeat bombing attacks by deflecting bombs off the top and sides, toward a reinforced area around the base. However, a Winkelturm of this type in Bremen suffered a direct hit by U.S. bomb in October 1944, which exploded through the roof and killed five people inside."




(images credit: A. Glasner)
Focke Wulf and even Daimler Benz factories got some towers, more than 34 were built around steel plants and rail centers, and quite a few were designated for the German Command itself.



(images credit: A. Glasner)
Cone shaped towers were complimented by the "Dieter" towers, hexagonal or somewhat mushroom-shaped:

Some towers had a flat roof, which was used as a platform for anti-aircraft guns and powerful searchlights.



Today these towers are often considered an eyesore, so the locals turn them into town museums, or even bus stops:

or they try to paint them into something cheerful:

I personally think that their weird and haunted look (combined with a bizarre monumental nature) make them good, though ghastly, reminders of the WWII past.

Sources and further reading: Third Reich Ruins, Luftschutz Bunker, Michael Grube, Lost Places.De
Photography by
- "Fernaufklärer", Fotos Darmstadt
- Alexander Gläsner, Fotos Duisburg-Wedau
- Michael Foedrowitz, Berlin
- Thomas K., Berlin, Fotos Zossen-Wünsdorf
Permanent Link...

Category: Architecture,History
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17 Comments:
Strange, architecture reminds me somewhat of the anthroposophical buildings like the Goetheanum...
As always interesting finds
Among your pictures is a tower in Vienna I live quite near by. I've always liked it for its gloomy, threatening look, and in summer it always gave nice shade to the people hanging out in the park it's in. Unfortunately, time has worn it down, and last year it threatened to collapse. While there had been plans by a company to turn it into a data-center, I don't think it'll last that long. Right now they are just trying to stop it from collapsing.
Check out this one. One huge ugly block. http://www.technik-kultur.de/wiki/index.php?title=Bunker_-_zweckentfremdet
It held 18.000 people and is still maintained as an emergency shelter.
It is across the street from where I live. It is now called the Mediabunker and is used by Photostudios, a music shop and bands for practice rooms. It also has a club at the top.
Someone should have put these towers up hitler's ass.
Very interesting. I am surprised someone hasn't turned one into a house of some kind.
Dude great blog that architect Leo Winkel should of designed the World trade Center. I hope you can visit my website ONLINE SHOPPING MALL
best regards John
As a child i was always interested by the german bunkers in the channel islands such as these
http://www.festungguernsey.supanet.com/Fortification.htm
cheers for the post
NTS
http://notstraight.wordpress.com/
We have couple of those towers in Sarajevo too, I know about them since I was a child but newer know the purpose of those old buildings. Looks exactly the same as those on pictures.
Hello,
I recall seeing these in the railyards near Kaiserslautern too. I also remember seeing one in Vienna - I'm not sure if it is the one you posted, but it had building built around it. It was almost like they were mushrooms that had grown up around a tree or something
Hehe, the one they turned into a bus stop (with the Loto-Sign in front of it) is actually located in my hometown of Stuttgart in Germany (Stuttgart-Feuerbach). My father always told me how he had to hide there and in other shelters when the bomb alarm went off during the last months of war...
A tower that is used for antiaircrfat guns and searchlights would not seem to be a safe refuge in an air raid...
They look like rocket ships skyward pointed, poised to lift off. But they are the opposite; heavy, not light, built to stay, not go.
I like the analogy...
I often went passed the one in Feuerbach, but I never could figure what it was. I'll have to go and look again... Thanks!
Wow those things are interesting. That is definitely a fun bit of useless knowledge.
Useless knowledge? I find them to be a facinating and somewhat hidden aspect of the war. We all know about Londoners hiding in the tubes during the Blitz, but no one seems to remember how badly Germany was bombed. This goes to show Germany's way of protecting it's people.
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