The unremarkable German town of Wünsdorf, located 40 km from Berlin, in the 20th century became almost the main place where decisions on a global scale were made several times. It was here that they secretly prepared an attack on Poland, and from here the Second World War began. Its territory became an ideal place as a training base for the strongest athletes, terrorists and saboteurs, and at the same time acted as a testing ground for weapons. And despite such an active military-strategic life, this "forbidden city" in an instant turned into a real ghost, becoming a silent memorial for the two great powers of the world.
The small town of Wünsdorf, one of the suburban districts of Zossen, began its fateful military history back in 1906, when barracks began to be built on its territory, and in 1910 a military infantry school was opened. All 25 hectares of the area were used as a training ground and the largest military base in Europe, where the troops that participated in the First World War (1914-1918) were trained.
At the same time, luxurious corps were actively built both for the commanders of the Kaiser's army and for ordinary soldiers. Here, fully equipped sports facilities were created, and even swimming pools, which in 20 years will become the main base for the preparation of German athletes for the 1936 Olympics, held in Berlin.
According to the editorial office of Novate. Ru, in Wünsdorf a "Crescent Camp" (Halbmondlager) was formed for Muslim prisoners of war, in which they were trained for terrorist acts in Britain and France. For future terrorists, they created ideal conditions for military training and life, and also built the first mosque in Germany in order to further influence their wards with the help of religion.
But by the beginning of the 20s, the camp was disbanded, sending trained thugs around the world, the mosque was then destroyed. Its existence is confirmed by numerous photographs and even postcards that were given to the "fighters of the holy war" in memory of the time spent in the camp.
Naturally, such a developed military infrastructure of Wünsdorf began to be strengthened even more after the end of the First World War, when the headquarters of the Reichswehr was located on its territory, which it was here that began to build up the country's military power, despite all the post-war agreements and prohibitions.
Interesting fact: It is hard to imagine, but next to the main den of the nascent Nazism, a refugee camp from Poland, Alsace and Lorraine was created, as well as a settlement of Russian emigrants who were forced to leave the country after the victory of the Great Revolution and the establishment of Soviet power.
Since 1937, large-scale construction of bomb shelters, bunkers and other ground and underground protected objects, codenamed "Maybach I" and "Maybach II", was carried out in Wünsdorf. The ultra-technological underground control center "Zeppelin" was also created, which became the main control unit during the Second World War. I would especially like to draw your attention to 19 ground-based bomb shelters, reminiscent of concrete missiles, which were erected by the military engineer Leo Winkel. This unique structure can hardly be called a bomb shelter, because everyone is used to seeing such structures underground.
This unusual structure, which is also called the "Winkel Tower", has a high conical structure with a height of more than 20 m, which can simultaneously accommodate up to 600 people. No matter how crazy this shelter may seem at first glance, during the tests and during the hostilities themselves, of all such structures, only one was damaged, and that was due to an accidental direct bomb hit.
For almost the entire war, the main command of Nazi Germany was located in this fortified area, but in April 1945 even this stronghold fell practically without resistance. When Soviet troops entered Wünsdorf, Marshal Zhukov decided to place the main headquarters here, which led the operation to storm Berlin.
Since that time, a new round in the history of the militarily significant town of Wünsdorf began. Already in 1946, a completely different army began to settle in the former headquarters, bunkers and barracks of the Wehrmacht.
Initially, it was the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (as it was officially called until 1954), which occupied the buildings and fortifications that had survived the bombing by the American army, starting the construction of new ones. Over time, such a dissonant name was changed to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG) and they began to create a town completely isolated from the outside world, which received the nickname Die Verbotene Stadt - "Forbidden City" among the local population.
The entire territory of the base was divided into structural units, the so-called military camps, in which all types of troops were located, from motorized rifle and tank to aviation and air defense.
In just a few years, the largest military base outside the USSR becomes a full-fledged settlement with a developed infrastructure, where everything was, from kindergartens, hairdressing salons, schools and clinics to a real theater, a concert hall and its own television. Over time, this closed territory even began to be called "Little Moscow", given how large the base had grown and how the people living in it were supplied.
Since 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, there has been a massive withdrawal of the entire contingent of the Western Group of Forces. For unknown reasons, people living in this territory were not given time to get ready, and many families left in such a hurry that not only personal belongings were not taken, but even pets were left homeless and perished.
Although the high authorities reported that almost all the weapons and equipment were removed, but as eyewitnesses say, after the withdrawal of troops, a huge amount of ammunition and various equipment remained, which are still being destroyed in this once strategically important territory.
Despite this desolation, some areas of this huge garrison city are taking on new life. Housing is being restored and restored, in which ordinary Germans now live, who decided to settle here.
Of course, those parts of the city where there are emergency buildings and warehouses with ammunition and weapons are closed to the public, and the rest of the territory is gradually turning into a tourist site, where everyone can wander unhindered, photographing the remnants of the former military power, which was created for almost two hundred years. superpowers.
Unfortunately, this is not the only military base that the military left and it was left to fend for itself, collapsing and turning into an eerie sight. Another tiny town in Alaska suffered the same fate. After the devastating earthquake, the troops left these harsh places, leaving the civilian population to fend for itself, which now I have to live in one surviving 14-storey building.