Reuse
After World War II the Walpersberg remained a guarded military site. The former REIMAHG complex was given new purposes over the decades – from agricultural storage to geological archives and, later, a sealed-off military zone.
Reuse of the Walpersberg
On 13 and 14 April 1945 units of the 89th US Infantry Division reached Kahla. They liberated the camps and the company hospital in Hummelshain, where more than one hundred civilians and sick prisoners were held. After the occupation the German guards were removed. Forced labourers and locals plundered the facilities; machinery, vehicles, and material were destroyed or burned.
When the Americans withdrew on 1 July 1945, the Red Army took over the Walpersberg and declared the plant war booty. Soviet troops dismantled machinery and technical installations, loading them onto freight trains bound for the USSR. Between 1946 and 1948 engineer units blew up large parts of the bunkers, runway, and infrastructure to prevent renewed military use. Despite the destruction much of the tunnel system survived.
In the early post-war years local enterprises and the LPG Walpersberg used several tunnel sections as storage rooms for potatoes and vegetables. The stable underground climate was ideal. This provisional use ended in the mid-1950s when the site gradually returned to state administration.
From 1961 the VEB Geological Research and Exploration Halle ran a central drill-core archive in the southern part of the complex. Hundreds of thousands of rock samples from exploration projects across the GDR were stored here – from the Leipzig lignite district to dam construction sites. The archive operated until 1969 and is considered one of the first civilian reuses.
Beginning in 1972 the Bergsicherung Ronneburg carried out systematic stability studies on behalf of state authorities. Between 1972 and 1976 five exploration drifts with a total length of more than 1,200 metres were driven. The final report by engineer Knut Köhler (1988) attested largely stable conditions and recommended targeted reinforcement such as shotcrete, rock anchors, and ventilation upgrades.
Based on the geotechnical results, the National People’s Army took over parts of the site in the mid-1970s and covertly established “Komplexlager 22” – an underground depot for ammunition and equipment. The area became a military restricted zone, access tunnels were camouflaged, and older drifts such as Q 8, Q 13, and R 3 were reopened and lined with concrete. A new memorial was built above the Leubengrund because the original monument had to make way for military use.
After German reunification the Bundeswehr assumed responsibility for the site. Activities focused on securing the area, removing remaining NVA stock, and checking contaminated zones. Limited military use continued until 1998; afterwards the grounds were abandoned.
In 2007 the Walpersberg History and Research Association took over parts of the former military terrain. Since then the association has been researching, protecting, and communicating the mountain’s history – from forced labour to Cold War use. Documentation projects, guided tours, excavations, and eyewitness work open the site to the public as an authentic place of remembrance.
nachgeschichte
Museum objects on reuse
The Documentation Center Walpersberg showcases objects that trace the site’s reuse after the war.