In Berlin, a project for 66 housing units reignites the debate on preserving the remains of a bunker from Hitler's chancellery.

In Berlin, a real estate project including 66 apartments is sparking a debate between housing construction and the preservation of historical memory. According to the German newspaper Bild , its realization would require the demolition of the remaining half of a bunker belonging to the new Reich Chancellery.

Covering an area of ​​approximately 1.250 m², this underground structure is located near the Brandenburg Gate, in a district that constituted the epicenter of German power under the Nazi regime.

"A historic site that absolutely must not be destroyed," argued Dietmar Arnold, president of the Berliner Unterwelten association, during a press conference.

According to him, this is one of the four bunkers still existing among the many structures built by the Nazis in this sector of the German capital.

A complex adjacent to the Führerbunker

The bunker was located in the immediate vicinity of the Führerbunker, which belonged to the same underground complex. Adolf Hitler committed suicide there with Eva Braun at the end of World War II.

The Führerbunker has since been partially destroyed and rendered inaccessible. The new Reich Chancellery, meanwhile, was built in the 1930s by the architect Albert Speer for Adolf Hitler.

The complex notably served as a refuge for women and children during the war. Its surface buildings were destroyed by the Soviet military administration in 1949 and 1950, Dietmar Arnold recalled.

The City prioritizes the construction of housing

For the Berlin municipality, the preservation of the underground structure should not prevent the construction of new housing.

“We are not opposed to the construction of new housing to preserve a bunker that could later become a place of pilgrimage,” justified by Christian Gaebler, deputy mayor in charge of construction for the capital, at the end of June in BILD.

The housing shortage and soaring rents are major concerns in Berlin. The issue is central to the campaign leading up to the local elections on September 20th.

According to Dietmar Arnold, the building permit may already have been issued for the plot in question. When contacted by AFP, the Berlin city hall did not immediately respond.

Build above the bunker to preserve it

Berliner Unterwelten states that it does not want to block the real estate project. The association proposes preserving the underground structure and building the new buildings above it.

“We are not opposed to the construction of new housing” on this site. “The preserved part of the bunker can be extended without any problem.” Dietmar Arnold emphasized.

According to the association, this solution would meet housing needs while preserving the historical remains.

Dietmar Arnold also disputes the risk of the bunker becoming a gathering place for those nostalgic for the Nazi regime.

"That's a completely fallacious and simplistic argument." he replied.

“We welcome 330.000 visitors a year, some of whom also visit a former Nazi bunker. We have never seen a pilgrimage site of this kind in this city.” he added regarding the activities of Berliner Unterwelten.