Hitler's 'Wolf Lair' to be tourist attraction

[alan newark]

Hitler's 'Wolf Lair' hidden deep in Polish forest to be turned into major tourist attraction

By Emma Reynolds

Last updated at 12:14 PM on 19th January 2012

'Mr Wolf': Hitler used the now-ruined fortress to conduct meetings and escape air bombardments

Adolf Hitler's secret 'Wolf Lair' set deep in the heart of a forest in north-eastern Poland is to be turned into a major tourist attraction.

Forestry workers are looking for an investor to help make the Nazi leader's ruined fortress more accessible to holidaymakers.

The camouflaged complex in the woodlands of what was once German East Prussia was one of Hitler's key military headquarters during World War II.

It is famed as the site of a dramatic assassination attempt on the dictator by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in 1944.

The incident entered popular consciousness again thanks to 2008 film Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise as the rebellious German colonel.

The Wolf's Lair was destroyed by the Nazi forces as they retreated in early 1945.

The hideout - whose name references Hitler's nickname, 'Mr Wolf' - consisted of 80 buildings at its peak and is now owned by the local forestry authority.
Secret hideout: Hitler's lair was set deep into the forest, camouflaged by trees and surrounded by a minefield

Secret hideout: Hitler's lair was set deep into the forest, camouflaged by trees and surrounded by a minefield
Famous tale: Tom Cruise in Valkyrie as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Hitler at the bunker in 1944

Famous tale: Tom Cruise in Valkyrie as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Hitler at the bunker in 1944

The spot is open to the public, but does not attract many visitors because it is tucked so far into the forest and accessible only by treacherous dirt roads.

Staff said they had begun looking for investors to help build a museum and put the lair on the map for tourists.

'We are waiting for offers,' said local forestry official Zenon Piotrowicz.

'The requirements are quite high because we want a new leaseholder to invest a lot, particularly in a museum with an exhibition that could be open all year long.'

The fortress near the Russian border was built in 1940 and 1941 to protect Hitler and other top Nazi officials from air bombardment during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

It had its own power plant and a railway station.

The complex was heavily camouflaged and surrounded by a minefield, which took 10 years to clear after the war.


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[Tom Houlihan]

I've got a few hundred!

[alan newark]

And there's my 2 cents :->....:->