Location: Brûly-de-Pesche, Couvin Municipality, Namur Map
Wolfsschlucht I (Dutch: Wolfskloof) was the code name of a supposed
headquarters of Adolf Hitler. Wolfsschlucht was located in
Brûly-de-Pesche in Couvin, Belgium, close to the French border. Hitler
stayed here between 6 and 28 June 1940 during the Battle of France.
There were two other complexes that bore the name Wolfsschlucht:
Wolfsschlucht II in Margival (France) and Wolfsschlucht III near
Saint-Rimay.
L'Abri de Hitler is hidden in a wood near the small isolated village
of Brûly-de-Pesche, about ten kilometers from the French border. The
village is a vast clearing in the middle of the great Ardennes forest.
It is one of twenty Führer Headquarters (Führerhauptquartiere or FHQ)
which Adolf Hitler undertook to build in Germany and occupied Europe in
order to be close to combat zones.
The Army headquarters was in
Chimay, about ten kilometers northwest of the village.
Construction
Fritz Todt, Reich Minister for Armament and
Munitions, was responsible for selecting a suitable location. The
choice fell on the small Belgian village of Brûly-de-Pesche, 25 km
northwest of Charleville-Mézières. On May 25, 1940, construction
work for this project began, carried out by Organization Todt (OT).
Up to June 6, 1940, 600 members of the OT were employed to carry out
the work. Hitler's concrete shelter, three meters deep, was built
from 630 m³ of concrete and offered a usable area of 25 m². In
addition, five barracks were built, one of which was intended for
Hitler, with a total floor space of 1500 m². One more of these
barracks was provided for the Wehrmachtführungsamt (WFA) and as a
dining room. An additional 800 m² of usable space was created in the
houses, e.g. B. School building and church of the village of
Brûly-de-Pesche made available. A light aircraft landing pad, with a
liaison aircraft on constant standby, was built south of the
village.
25 houses were requisitioned there for the Army High
Command (OKH), which set up its headquarters in Chimay, a few
kilometers away.
The entire facility was fenced off with
barbed wire and guarded by security forces. The strength of the
security forces was 26 officers, 185 non-commissioned officers and
about 750 men. Anti-aircraft defense was ensured by three
anti-aircraft batteries with 10.5 cm anti-aircraft guns, one battery
with 3.7 cm anti-aircraft guns and one 2 cm battery.
Hitler's
presence
Hitler left his first permanent headquarters, the
Felsennest, on June 6, 1940 to move into the successor headquarters
Wolfsschlucht. He used the FHQu Wolfsschlucht only from June 6, 1940
to June 27, 1940 and only occasionally. Eyewitnesses reported that
Hitler mostly stayed outdoors due to a mosquito plague inside the
buildings. He criticized the entire facility as “not safe”, and he
never lived in the bunker built by the OT. On June 25, 1940, Hitler
left Wolfsschlucht, and on June 19, 1940 he ordered the Fuhrer's
headquarters to be moved to Tannenberg. On July 2, 1940, the plant
was handed over to the OT.
Unlike Wolfsschlucht II in France Wolfsschlucht I is well preserved and open for the tourists. History museum inside is dedicated to the Western Campaign as well as Resistance. Near a Hitler's bunker, keepers re- built a replica of huts of partisans. Since 1981, the Abri de Hitler has been the property of the municipality of Couvin. Two of the three chalets have been rebuilt identically and house a Resistance museum.