Before the Downfall

The Wolf's Lair: hidden deep in the forest of what is now north-eastern Poland, this complex of concrete bunkers and barracks, once covered in moss and draped with camouflage netting, was one of the central sites of the Second World War. After launching his invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Hitler spent the vast majority of his time in this compound. It was here that the systematic murder of European Jewry was decided upon. It was also the site of Claus von Stauffenberg's failed assassination attempt on 20 July 1944, which the dictator survived with just minor injuries. And it is where Hitler, barricading himself away from the world, sank into depression and malaise after Germany's defeat at Stalingrad. But, while many people may be familiar with the name, few people have a clear idea of the compound itself, and of the pivotal events that unfolded there over almost three and a half years.

Drawing on eye-witness accounts and newly available documents, Felix Bohr reconstructs the Wolf's Lair in vivid detail and shows what everyday life was like in this secretive and secluded compound. Some two thousand people lived in the complex, to which a café, sauna, brewery and cinema were added over the years. What can we learn about Hitler's personality from the first-hand accounts of secretaries, officers, cooks and servants? And how did the increasingly chaotic environment and the paranoid atmosphere in this isolated complex influence the decisions that were made there? Bohr's detailed descriptions provide a precise analysis of the upper echelons of the Nazi regime, which, between strolls through the forest and regular teatimes, plotted Germany's gruesome crimes against humanity.