um 1944/45Walpersberg · SüdseiteArchiv Geschichts- und Forschungsverein Walpersberg e. V.

Construction Site

At the beginning of 1944 the Walpersberg turned into a gigantic construction site. Under the direction of the Gustloff Foundation and numerous construction companies the old sandpit system was converted for aircraft production. Access roads, rail links and kilometres of tunnels were completed within months. Thousands of forced labourers, specialists and members of the Hitler Youth toiled under brutal conditions to meet the REIMAHG minimum construction programme. Walpersberg thus became one of the largest underground building projects in the German Reich.

Eyewitness accounts about the construction site

No eyewitness testimonies found.

Involved companies

More than 120 companies, workshops and craftsmen worked on the construction of the Nazi armaments plant REIMAHG on the Walpersberg near Kahla. The following list shows the businesses confirmed so far. Some of them had their own foremen and gang leaders and even provided daytime guards for the forced labourers.

Construction activities were coordinated by REIMAHG Bau GmbH, a subsidiary founded specifically for this purpose by the GUSTLOFF works in Weimar. The chief architect was Ernst Flemming, also from Weimar. This alone illustrates how closely Thuringia’s Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel was linked to the project.

Confirmed businesses

Total entries: 113

Company	Location	Task	Forced labourers
	—	—
	—	Bau des Lagers 2, 3, E
	—	Flugzeugteile FW 190
	—	Verlagerung von Maschinen und Arbeitskräften
	—	—
	—	ARADO Fertigung Krölpa
	—	Stollenbau, Siedlung in Kleindembach
	—	Holzbarackenlieferant
	—	Bau der Lager 1, 3, 5, 8
	—	—

Showing 10 of 113

Surface facilities & tunnel system

Expanding the Walpersberg for REIMAHG required massive interventions in both landscape and mountain. On the surface roads, rail sidings, storage areas and barrack settlements for thousands of workers were created.

Inside the mountain the existing sandpit network was extended into a vast tunnel system where aircraft components were to be produced and assembled.

The combination of surface infrastructure and underground production turned the Walpersberg into one of the largest armament projects of its time.

Walpersberg aerial photo

Aerial photograph from 8 April 1945, four days before liberation, showing the state of construction.

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Baustelle

Museum objects from the construction site

Photos, tools and artefacts in our documentation centre reveal the chaotic reality on the REIMAHG construction site: improvised halls, unfinished tunnels and traces of forced labour can still be traced today.

Baustelle

Modell des Walpersbergs im Zustand vom April 1945 (Maßstab 1 : 400)

Das Modell zeigt den Walpersberg im April 1945 und macht die Größe, Struktur und Komplexität der unterirdischen Rüstungsanlage der REIMAHG unmittelbar nachvollziehbar.

Baustelle

Porzellan-Isolator aus der Stromversorgung des Stollensystems

Dieser Porzellan-Isolator wurde zur Stromversorgung im Stollensystem des Walpersbergs eingesetzt. Er ermöglichte die sichere Führung elektrischer Leitungen und steht für die technische Infrastruktur der unterirdischen Rüstungsanlagen.

Baustelle

Technik

Zusammengeschmolzene Splinte aus dem gesprengten Stollensystem

Dieser Metallblock besteht aus zahlreichen Splinten, die bei sowjetischen Sprengungen nach 1945 im Stollensystem des Walpersbergs zusammengeschmolzen sind. Er steht für die gewaltsame Zerstörung der unterirdischen Rüstungsanlagen und markiert das Ende ihrer militärischen Nutzung.

Technik

Personen

Stuhl aus dem „Sauckel-Haus“ am Walpersberg

Stuhl aus dem „Sauckel-Haus“ am Walpersberg – ein erhaltenes Möbelstück aus dem Umfeld der nationalsozialistischen Verwaltung.

Personen

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