Lager Koralle – German Kriegsmarine Headquarters OKM – Lanke, Germany


Lager Koralle – Camp Coral guard house

History

The German Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine, OKM (Eng. German War Naval High Command) had its headquarters in Berlin, in the Tiergarten area in 1934. During World War One the German navy was called the Kaiserlichen Marine des Deutschen Kaiserreichs (Eng. Imperial German Navy of the German Empire) and after 1918 and the Versaille treaty the name was changed into Reichsmarine des Deutschen Reiches ). In 1935 it changed into the Kriegsmarine and was under command of Grossadmiral Erich Reader. Grand Admiral Erich Reader was in command until 1943 before he was followed up by Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz, who commanded the Kriegsmarine until the end of the war in 1945 and was the last Fuhrer (Eng. Leader) of Germany. He followed up Adolf Hitler after his death in April 1945 in Berlin.

Lager Koralle – Lagerzimmerbunker Naval Command Center or FLaKbunker

As the Second World War progressed the Germans failed to gain air dominance which was an unwelcome result after the lost Battle of Britain in 1940. As the Americans entered the war in 1941, and the Allied air fleet in the western territories increased drastically, bombings on German factories, infrastructure and strongpoints became more and more frequent. Berlin was in reach for the allied bombers and the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine was in jeopardy.

Just to the North of Bernau, which lies 20 to 25 km to the north of Berlin the Kriegsmarine had a Naval Telecommunications School in a heavily forested area on a 54 hectare stretch of land. Development started back in 1939 and when in 1943 the bombardments on Berlin became too fierce the OKM decided to relocate to the Bernau / Lanke / Lobetal area bringing command of all German Naval activities with them.

Colorized photo of Karl Dönitz with Adalbert Schnee and Eberhard Godt at Lager Koralle – U-boat Headquarters near Berlin – courtesy Battlefieldasww2

Lager Koralle – Camp Coral

After the Kriegsmarine High Command moved in, the code name Lager Koralle was used (Eng. Camp Coral). There were buildings for the naval intelligence service and the weather service. There were bunkers above ground level and there was a bunker below ground level where the OKM headquarters operated. The submarine commander was set up in this site, therefore all communications for the submarine warfare was stationed in a large bomb proof bunker on the perimeter. There were accommodations for the command staff, an officers mess, personnel barracks, a bathhouse, garages, several fire ponds etc. An anti-aircraft bunker with FlaK guns protected the site. The complex was equipped with numerous radio transmission systems, including five transmission masts, broadband antennas and a radio link system. Two huge bunkers were built at the site, a Truppenmanschaftbunker its original purpose was a luftschutzbunker or air raid bunker for marine personnel. The other is another specialised bunker referred to as lagezimmerbunker (Eng. situation room bunker – war room bunker for all Kriegsmarine shipping command) with FlaK guns on top, referred to as FlaK bunker. The house where Karl Donitz and his family lives still exists, it was called Villa Dönitz, or Casino. After the war a second floor was added.

Lager Koralle near Lobetal – Kriegsmarine Headquarters
Lager Koralle – One of the fire ponds

Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 – T 750

Lager Koralle – Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 – T 750 Luftschutsbunker

There is an underground bunker, this should have been a workstation for 130 men but lies further down the road. Free to visit is the large 3 floors high Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 for 750 men (Eng. personnel bunker). The T 750 Kriegsmarine bunker was 26 x 26,6 meter wide and 11,6 meters high with a roof of 3,50 to 3,75 meters thick. The outer walls were 2,5 meter thick with 50 cm thick inner walls and room heights of 2,30 meter. Thirty two of these huge bunkers were built during the Nazi reign mostly near waterways or harbours with one inland exception, Lager Koralle, in the woods north of Berlin. All are built on Kriegsmarine compounds, these bunkers were developed specially for the Kriegsmarine and these naval bunkers were built from 1943 in two construction waves. These were luftschutzbunkers to protect German marine personnel (air raid shelters).There is a smaller version for 500 men and one bigger with an extra floor, these four stories high bunkers housed 1100 to 1400 men personnel depending on the type of bunker.

The T 750 does not use the Regelbau number like we know, usually a Kriegmarine bunker type or naval coastal battery is marked with the letter “M”. This bunker type uses a “T”. The “T” does not stand for a standard construction abbreviation, but simply abbreviates the term troop bunker, or Truppenmanschaftbunker in German.

Lager Koralle – Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 from above
Lager Koralle – Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 – T 750 Kriegsmarine Headquarters
Lager Koralle – Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 – T 750 Luftschutsbunker
Lager Koralle – the only original tekst left in the Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 – T 750 Luftschutsbunker
Lager Koralle – Text in the photo: “Der Aufenthalt in den Gängen ist verboten !” (Eng. Staying / lingering in the hallways is prohibited !)
Lager Koralle – Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 – T 750
Truppemanschaftbunker 750 – T 750 – Luftschitzbunker or Air Raid Schelter in Wilhelmshaven – Courtesy Google maps

Lagezimmerbunker

Lager Koralle – Lagerzimmerbunker Naval Command Center or FlaK bunker

South of the Truppenmanschaftbunker 750 lies the Lagezimmerbunker, the object now known as the anti-aircraft bunker which was also built in 1944. In this bunker were operating rooms for intelligence personnel in the basement, a large briefing room and the BdU’s office (Befehlshabers der U-Boote – Eng. Commander of the submarines) as well as several rooms for the SKL operations department on the upper floor (Seekriegsleitung – Eng. Naval Warfare Command). The construction drawings show the anti-aircraft bunker without the bogies to accommodate the two anti-aircraft guns and without the associated covers. It can therefore be assumed that these were only built later, possibly during the construction process itself.

Lager Koralle – Lagezimmerbunker – Kriegsmarine High Command Bunker
Lager Koralle – Lagerzimmerbunker Naval Command Center or FLaKbunker
Lager Koralle / Camp Coral – Lagerzimmerbunker Kriegsmarine High Command
Lager Koralle – Lagerzimmerbunker Naval Command Center or FLaKbunker
Lager Koralle – on top of the Lagerzimmerbunker – Kriegsmarine High Command
Lager Koralle – a FlaK position on top of the Lagerzimmerbunker – Kriegsmarine High Command
Lager Koralle – on top of the Lagerzimmerbunker – Kriegsmarine High Command
Lager Koralle – the Lagerzimmerbunker – Kriegsmarine High Command

Operation Valkyrie

Naval officer Berthold Schenk Von Stauffenberg had an apartment in Lager Koralle. He was, together with his younger brother Claus Von Stauffenberg, one of the conspirators to kill Adolf Hitler during the 20 July Plot in 1944 better known as Operation Valkyrie. Berthold was tried in a people’s court afterwards and sentenced to death by strangulation / hanging. Before he was killed he was strangled and revived multiple times. The whole ordeal was filmed for Adolf Hitler to view at his leisure.

Lager Koralle – the Lagerzimmerbunker – Kriegsmarine High Command

The End of the German Naval High Command at lager koralle

During the Battle of Berlin the Red Army advanced on Lager Koralle and the German High Command relocated westwards to the German city of Plön near the western border. North West towards the city of Mürwick afterwards when the Commonwealth and American forces advanced from the West. The Russian troops blew up most of the structures but used the site and intact buildings and bunkers after the war.

Lager Koralle near Lobetal – Kriegsmarine Headquarters

Visit

Lager Koralle is free to visit and open for visitors. It is situated in a forested area and the above ground level remains can be visited. The below ground level entrance is sealed off with a concrete slab, fenced off and camera protected, it is just too dangerous to enter after almost a century. The site Is heavily polluted, the old ammunition bunkers or garages pile out with old tires, mattresses and refrigerators. It is a small garbage belt to be honest. The site is cleaner near the demolished bunkers. Parking spaces are sparse but it can be done to find a spot for your car. Lager Koralle lies in / near Lobetal near the village of Lanke. We used the adress: Wiesenweg, 16348 Wandlitz, Germany to get there but stopped on the road to park our car. At the end of the road is the former Villa Dönitz, today it is called Hofgemeinschaft Spörgelhof, a civilian residence. This is a private property and we respected their privacy and left the property alone, besides that the road towards it is prohibited.

Movies

We have two short videos for you to watch and see what is left of both the Truppenmanschaftbunker and the Lagezimmerbunker.

 


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