A few weeks ago a member of our RBL Branch mentioned wanting to visit the site of Carinhall, the former residence of Göring which is situated North of Berlin ajacent to the Großer Döllnsee and Wuckersee, two nice lakes. Today we both travelled to the national park area to seek out the path to the old site. Several access roads have been closed off over the years and the stone markers with directions and distance have had the name Carinhall, with direction arrow and distance removed. We arrived after a journey along a tractor type track and the exhaust bottoming several times to emerge at what was the two Wachhäuser and two Postenhäuser. The gate has long gone but the two GuardTowers (Postenhäuser) remained next to the old outer wall and both Guard houses (Wachhäuser). The Cross Batons could still be made out on the towers with the Oak leaf emblem underneath. Even the Baton details could be made out. Unfortunately, this is all that remains to be seen of the once impressive building, which was demolished on Görings instructions before the Russians arrived in the area. Most of the statues were removed and take away as was tons of valuable antiques, etc. What statues could not be taken away were smashed up. I believe that several statues are on view at the Museum Island in Berlin. After walking around we saw several large holes in the ground where there was once very solid reinforced concrete. There were signs of concrete walls caving in and all cavities were blocked by heavy masonry. I saw one service type trap about 2 feet square which was a few feet deep and empty. The site has become very well overgrown over the years and it is hard finding the foundations, but I found one wall foundation and a photo is attached. An attractive place to make a residence and still remains a nice place to walk around as it is all a National Park area. Whilst there a man on a bicycle appeared who said that he lived on one of the old Guard Houses. He produced a photocopy of a picture taken in 1939 when some of the later building work was being carried out. He even gave directions to us and showed where the various parts of the house were. He was quite surprised that we knew the location as most people walking in the area have no idea of the history there. A nice time was had exploring the area, just a pity not more photographs to share of any house remains. Some background info from the web. Carinhall_Outside_1933-1945 Lageplan 1937 mit falsche Schreibweise "Karinhall" misspelled : "Karinhall" (in German 'C' is rarly used as a first letter in a word, thus often misspelled) Neuer Innenhof 1937 / New Court 1937 Gruft von Carin Göring / Tomb of Carin Göring Hitler and Göring ascending steps from tomb Im Inneren / Interior of tomb (nur in klein Format - only offered in a small format) Library of Congress Online Catalog Carinhall_Inside_1933-1945 Galerie / Galerie Minister Matsuoka 29.03.1941 Regards Tom
Our Man in Berlin does it again. Fantastic photos Tom, both present day and from the 40's. As I recall he did a pretty good job destroying it.
Our Man in Berlin does it again. Fantastic photos Tom, both present day and from the 40's. As I recall he did a pretty good job destroying it. ditto
Thanks for all your kind comments. Now back to reality and redecorating the youngests bedroom! I have to admit that the day break from all the scraping of wallpaper and removal of carpet was most welcome. Regards Tom
Good shooting, Tom. Well done! What a great presentation. On the home front, I feel your pain .... still creating a water pond and falls in the garden. Rome was built quicker ... cheers, phil
Always wanted to see photos of the infamous Hall. It must have taken some effort to destroy. Many thanks for the pix, Tom.
I have seen a website that shows a tunnel leading under the house which is now blocked I will try to find it!.. Lee
Lee, There was an escape tunnel built from the house to the lake which was not many yards away. It is probably this that you are refering to. Regards Tom
Lee, I managed to purchase a book on Carinhall called Görings Reich, which is quite well documented and has some good period photographs. Regarding the bunker, it was situated between the house and the lake Großer Döllnsee, which is the west side of the house adjacent to the lake. The entrance was next to the west wall and is indicated on the diagram plan of the house and surrounding area. By the Große Halle is marked unterirdischer Eingang zu Görings Privat bunker, or Underground entrance to Görings Private Bunker. Attached are the book cover details and relevent information plus a diagram plan of the bunker. From the bunker was a tunnel that led to a secure bunker door by one of the boat houses. There is a picture from 1937 showing the side of the lake with boat houses and showing the bunker tunnel exit and luftwaffen guard. There is also a picture taken in 1998 showing the difference of then and 1998. Regards Tom
Always wanted to see photos of the infamous Hall. It must have taken some effort to destroy. Many thanks for the pix, Tom. Yup, it did take a great effort to destroy it - six years of war and millions of dead. While stationed in Germany, I visited lots of Third Reich associated sites and eventually came to the conclusion that we, the Allies, left too many of them standing.
Odd little story re. Carinhall's namesake, found in the area: Remains of Nazi Herman Goering's wife identified | Science Codex Carin Goering's shrine & re-interment. 1934, from Bundesarchiv:
Just had a few hours lookiug around the Luftwaffen Museum and took several photographs on differing themes. Here are some photographs of one of Görings uniform and Close up of an eppaulette which is richly embroidered showing the Eagle. Regards Tom
The map Shows a well between the lake and the house directly on the Main Access road axis. Regards Tom
I have this photo and wondered if it is the well from Carinhall, no idea of the people in the photograph.