IN HITLER'S HEADQUARTERS AND ANTI-NUCLEAR SHELTER

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IN HITLER'S HEADQUARTERS AND ANTI-NUCLEAR SHELTER

"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." In these words of Mahatma Gandhi one can find the senselessness of waging and declaring wars. However, in Rzeszów and its immediate surroundings we will find silent witnesses of war history, stimulating the imagination and forcing reflection. These are objects related to armed conflicts and the Cold War.

Let's go on a journey through history

We start our military journey approximately 30 km from Rzeszów. We are just in front of an inconspicuous gate leading us to the mysterious and invisible from the air Shelter Tunnel for the staff train under Góra Żarnowska in Strzyżów. It is the only such facility in Poland. It was here that in August 1941 Adolf Hitler's Amerika train was hidden. The 438 m reinforced concrete shelter was built on his order in the years 1940-1941.

Schron Tunelowy w Strzyżowie_fot. Arch. Muzeum Ziemi Strzyzowskiej.webp [3.33 MB]

Tunnel Shelter in Strzyżów, photo by Museum of Strzyżów

In turn, 17 km from Strzyżów, in the village of Stępina, there is the second part of Hitler's headquarters "Anlage Süd" – a huge above-ground railway shelter with a length of 383 m. The area was once surrounded by a wooden fence and barbed wire entanglements, and the shelters were hidden under camouflage nets. It was from this part of the headquarters that Adolf Hitler personally used. A meeting between Hitler and Mussolini was held here on 27-28.08.1941.

We are now moving to the training ground, 50 km north of Stępina, to the village of Blizna, with a Historical Park among dense forests. We learn that during World War II, the Nazis tested V1 and V2 rocket weapons here. The V-2 rocket was to be the great hope of the Germans to turn the tide of the war in 1944 and reach the borders of England. In addition to the remains of the training ground and the reconstructed V2 rocket, the role of the Home Army in unmasking Hitler's secret weapon, which contributed to the salvation of London, is also presented here.

Tunnel Shelter in Strzyżów, photo: M. Bartyzel

Anti-nuclear shelter in Rzeszów

We leave a slightly newer story for the end. We move to Rzeszów, where we can find an anti-nuclear shelter "Marysieńka", an object built during the "Cold War" (1956-1960). The shelter with a considerable area of nearly 400 square meters was built in the event of a global nuclear war. It was to provide shelter for 58 people for 21 days, as well as a backup command post for the troops.

Schron Marysieńka_fot. G. Joniec.webp [1.31 MB]

Shelter "Marysieńka", photo by G.Joniec

An interesting fact is the inconspicuous location of this military object and the perfect camouflage, which is a classic white single-family house. In addition, for camouflage, the building at Królowej Marysieńki Street was inhabited during the Cold War by a family obliged by state secrets. Underground we visit as many as a dozen anti-nuclear rooms. You can see here sanitary quarters, boiler room, electrical switchboard, kitchen, doctor's office, or hydrophore with its own deep wells.