Built in 1738/39 by CF Richter, this building was originally constructed as an aristocratic palace. After several changes in ownership it was eventually bought by Otto von Bismarck, in 1869, for the use of the Prussian state government. At the time Bismarck had his residence in the adjacent Ministery of Foreign Affairs. Shortly before, the Palais Voss had been demolished, the property subdivided and a section cleared for the construction of a new road – Voss Street. Bismarck wanted to prevent the same fate befalling the old Palais, and so the land was acquired for the German Reich in 1875. It was decided that the building would be used as a residence and headquarters for the Reich's Chancellor. The Palais was renovated in 1875-1878 by Georg Joachim Wilhelm Neumann. When the renovation was completed, Bismarck used the building as residence and headquarters. Since Bismarck directed the newly established Authority Central Bureau of the Reich's Chancellor, he proposed the renaming of the building to “Reich’s Chancellery” In the same year the building became part of international history when the Berlin Congress met here to regulate the problems in the Balkans. The meeting took place in the reception hall, in the centre of the first floor, with Bismarck as mediator. In 1934-1935, the Palais was renovated once more, when Paul Ludwig Troost refurbished the building to serve as residence and office for Adolf Hitler. In 1938 Albert Speer rebuilt the entrance, and when he was commissioned by Hitler to construct the New Reich's Chancellery, he incorporated the baroque Palais into the architectural design of the new structure. From this time the Palais was called the Old Reich's Chancellery. In March 1945, during the repair of bomb damage, the reception hall of the Old Reich's Chancellery was destroyed by a bomb. The entire building was destroyed between 23 April and 2 May 1945 by the intense artillery fire focused on the Reich's Chancellery during the Battle of Berlin.
New Reich's Chancellery
Address: 2-19 Voßstraße (old numbers) 4-6 (new numbers)
Adolf Hitler had planned already since 1934 an enlargement of the Reich's Chancellery. Originally it was planned to only use Voßstraße 2-5, the properties already owned by the German Reich by this time. However By 1936, with the increasingly aggressive foreign policies that Hitler implemented, he also wanted to demonstrate his power with a new big building. So in early 1936 he gave Albert Speer the contract to build him a New Reich's Chancellery which should start at the Palais Borsig and stretch then over the whole length of northern Voßstraße. The construction began in 1937 and was completed in 1939.
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The Reception Hall in the Reich's Chancellery Garden
The Reception Hall (also known as the Diplomats' Room or Ballroom) was built in 1935-1936 by the architect Professor Leonard Gall in the garden of the Reich's Chancellery. This was the first major new building, commisioned by Adolf Hitler, to be built on the property of the Reich's Chancellery. The Reception Hall served as a meeting and reception room for about 200 people. In addition to the hall itself, the building project included the connection staircase of the Fuehrer apartment in the Old Reich's Chancellery, an air raid shelter underneath the Reception Hall, and an annexe on it's northern facade which contained apartments for Hitler's closest aides. After the bunker was extended in 1943-1945, the original air raid shelter underneath the reception hall became known as the fore-bunker. This is where the Göbbels family lived from April 1945 untill their deaths. The Reception Hall was damaged during the war, and was demolished between 1947-1948, along with the Old Reichs Chancellery.
The Extension Building
This extension to the Reich's Chancellery was built in 1928 – 1931 by Eduard Jobst Siedler and Robert Kisch. It was constructed on the property where the Palais Voss, was demolished some years before. The building was inaugurated by Paul von Hindenburg on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Reich. In 1934 interior of the building was renovated on conjunction with the renovation of the Reich's Chancellery. In 1935, Albert Speer added a balcony, the famous "Führerbalkon" to the main facade of the building. Göbbels' Ministry of Propaganda backdated the construction of the balcony to 1933, to enforce a symbolic link between the Führerbalkon and Hitler's assumption of power. Albert Speer perpetuated this false claim, even in the books he published after the war and his years in prison. In 1938 the southern part of the building was demolished and rebuilt as part of it's integration into the New Reich's Chancellery. A driveway was constructed through the building to provide access to the new Court of Honor from Wilhelmplatz. The entrance to the driveway was built into the facade of the extension building as a large double doorway. In 1945 the extension building was partialy destroyed during an arial bombardment. When the building was released, along wiith the New Reich's Chancellery, for the collection of building materials, it was demolished on Soviet command in 1950.
The Barracks of the Begleitmannschaften
Albert Speer built two barracks for the "SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" on the western edge of the Reich's Chancellery property. These barracks were a part of the informal section of the Chancellery, and were not a part of the official government headquarters. Even though these buildings were planned and constructed in conjunction with the New Reichs Chancellery, Speer ensured that their design set them apart from the Chancellery itself. He achieved this by utilising a more functional architectural style typical of residential buildings. Here the difference between the ornate architecture of official government buildings and that of purely utilitarian structures can be clearly seen.
The Greenhouse
The Greenhouse of the New Reich's Chancellery was built into the northern section of the Pergola, and is a good example of the conflict in which Speer often found himself as an Architect. On the one hand Speer would obviously have been aware that the most appropriate materials for the construction of a greenhouse is metal and glass, as these materials allow the maximum amount of light to reach into the structure. However, Speer was also aware of the fact that Adolf Hitler would reject a design of glass and metal as "modern architecture". To solve this problem Speer constructed the greenhouse from natural stone, and tried to compensate for the lack of light by placing an oversized window in the front facade. This imbalance between form and function was further exacerbated when two statues by Ambrosi and Tuallion were placed in front of the greenhouse. Not only do the artworks differ greatly in scale, but the artists also lived in different times. The statues were simply placed here alongside each other because it was known that Hitler liked them.
The Atrium of the Reichskanzlei
The atrium of the New Reich's Chancellery was located in the western administrative building, and was a part of the informal sector of the New Reich's Chancellery. It contained the garages of the house fire brigade, as well as the delivery zone for the Chancellery cafiteria, and was connected with a passage to the entrance of the main garage. The atrium also served to provide natural light to the offices in this section of the Reich's Chancellery.
The Big Courtyard
The larger courtyard of the New Reich's Chancellery was located between thewestern administration building and Mittelbau. Its main function was to create a visual distance between the administration building and the main garden facade of the Chancellery, so that the garden facade of the New Reich's Chancellery became an independent visual element. This courtyard was only used as an entrance by staff and residents of the Barracks on Hermann Göring Street.
The Garden Facade of the New Reichs Chancellery
The garden facade of the New Reich's Chancellery reached over the entire length of Mittelbau, and one quarter of the two administrative buildings. The focal point of the garden facade was the terrace with portico which led to Hitler's office. The terrace was flanked by two bronze horses, created by the Austrian sculptor Josef Thorak. Two staircases to the left and right of the terrace led to the portico with it's giant marble pillars from which doors led to Hitler's office.
The Dining Hall of the New Reich's Chancellery
The dining hall connected the Old Reich's Chancellery to the garden facade of the New Reich's Chancellery. The architectural character of the passage in front of the dining hall was inherited from it's predecesson - the so called Bismarck passage. Albert Speer demolished the passage in 1937, but repeated it's characteristic arches in the garden facade of the new dining hall.
The Private Courtyard The Private Courtyard
When Albert Speer built the Court of Honor for the New Reich's Chancellery, it was located in roughly the same position as the courtyard of the first extension to the Old Reich's Chancellery. Only a small corner of the original courtyard remained, and this was incorporated into the smaller, covered courtyard which led from the Court of Honor. Like most of the facades of the New Reich's Chancellery, the walls were covered in a natural stone cladding. This courtyard connected the Old and the New Reich's Chancellery. It provided access to the garages where Hitler’s personal fleet was kept, as well as to the Old Reich's Chancellery where his private quarters were located. For this reason the smaller courtyard is considered to be Hitler’s private entrance to the Chancellery.
Mittelbau
Mittelbau (literally "Centre Building) was the physical and political centre of the New Reich's Chancellery. The Reich's Cabinet Room, the Grand Reception Hall, the Marble Gallery and Hitler's office were all located within this section of the Chancellery. This central role of Mittelbau was outwardly indicated by its prominent placement, size, and the materials used in its facade. The street facade was covered with a natural stone cladding, and showed no visible access to the building. This gave the building section a somewhat fortified appearance, which was further emphasized by a recessed facade, 16 meters from the road. However, this exclusive appearance was simply an illusion of design - in actuality Mittelbau was constructed on top of a public air raid shelter. Five hidden entrances to the shelters were located in the paving in front of the building. These entrances could be opened independantly from within the Chancellery. They opened hydraulically to provide access to stairways leading to the air raid shelters.
The Eastern Administrative Building
The eastern administrative building was also called the Praesidialkanzlei. It was designed by Albert Speer to serve as a visual bridge between the historic Borsig Palais and the New Reich's Chancellery.The building consisted of a left and a right wing, seperated by a central portal. The right wing was divided into two levels, to match the two levels of Borsig Palais. Its height was also dictated by the height of the Palais and this, in turn, determined the height of the entire New Reich's Chancellery. The design and materials of the facade of the right wing matched those on the rest of the Chancellery building. The left wing of the Praesidialkanzlei was divided into three levels. The central portal served as a demarcation between the two- and three level wings of the building, and so marked the transition between the historical and modern buildings. Above the entrance was mounted an imperial eagle by the sculptor Professor Kurt Schmidt-Ehmen. The left wing of the building integrated harmoniously into the whole via the architectural link between the portal and the Borsig Palais. The repetition and variation of design elements on the left- and right wings of the building ensured that the discrepancy between the tree level and two level building halves were dynamic, rather than disturbing.
The Engine Room
The engine room was the technical heart of the Vorbunker. The generator was able to provide power for the bunker even during a power failure. Left in the picture shown are the 4 air filters of the bunker filter system. Only after filtering the air through these filters, was it then possible to distribute the air through the ventilation openings into the rooms of the bunker.
The Reich Cabinet Meeting Room
The Reich cabinet meeting room was renovated between 1875-1878 by Wilhelm Neumann on behalf of Bismarck and looked as seen here until its destruction in 1944. The only novelty was the 1934-1935 implement refurbishment by Paul Ludwig Troost.
The Exit Of The Vorbunker
The exit of the Vorbunker was located opposite the elevator. It is likely that this exit was used as a second entrance to the Vorbunker. While the residents of the Old Reich Chancellery used the main entrance to the Vorbunker, at the same time the residents of northern extension could enter the Vorbunker through the air lock of this bunker exit.
The Emergency Exit Of The Vorbunker
In the western area of the basement, one can recognize the air cushion of the reception hall above. On the right is the western outer wall of the bunker recognisable on which stood the western pillars of the reception hall. The garden facade of the reception hall rested on the basement wall to the left. This picture shows the emergency exit of Vorbunker fenced by a railing. This exit was only used as an emergency and it remained closed at all times.
The Staircase To The Basement Of The Reception Hall
East of the winter garden was the staircase, which linked the basement of the reception hall directly to the “Führers Apartment”. The entire northern part of the Old Reich Chancellery was called “Führers Apartment”, including the dining room and the winter garden. Directly opposite the staircase was the main entrance to the Vorbunker.
The Reception Hall
From an architectural point of view the appearance of the reception hall represented Hitler’s personal taste. The Atelier Troost had been erecting buildings for Hitler since before 1933. For these buildings Troost had developed an architectural language, based on the classical, which today is considered to be typical of the National Socialist era. But the appearance of the Reception Hall shows that there never was a typical National Socialist architectural style. Instead, classical elements were used and combined in whatever manner best suited their purposes. Consequently, with the Reception Hall, Leonard Gall designed a building which seems, from its exterior appearance, more like a rural mansion than an official building of the German government. With its wall lamps, shutters and plastered façades, the building could have been a summer house on one of the Brandenburg lakes.
Reception Hall and Vorbunker / Cut
The air raid shelter and the reception hall were designed to form a static symbiosis. As previously mentioned, the shelter, with its thick concrete ceiling, formed a solid foundation for the marble columns in the reception hall. These columns reached 50 cm downward through the air cushion beneath the reception hall floor, resting directly on the bunker ceiling. The placement of the pillars was also determined by the layout of the shelter. Each pillar was placed squarely on top of an intersection between two bunker walls. The extra pressure bearing down on these intersections added strength and stability to the air raid shelter.
The Basement Of The Reception Hall
The basement rooms were connected by passages on the eastern and western sides of the shelter. These could be used as escape routes, should it become necessary to evacuate the bunker in an emergency. The rooms and passages that surrounded the shelter also had another function. They created a space between the exterior walls of the building, and the bunker itself. This offered additional protection, as bombs which hit the construction from the side would explode in this space, before reaching the air raid shelter itself.
The Old Winter Garden
This small extension to the Garden facade of the Reich’s Chancellery contained a Garden Room, which was originally built when the old Palais was renovated to become Bismarck’s Chancellery. Hitler gave Paul Ludwig Troost the task of changing the Garden Room into a dining room, with an attached winter garden. Troost’s plan was to build the winter garden on the western side of the dining room. In the northern section of the winter garden, he would build a staircase to connect the dining room to the roof terrace.
The Kannenberg Passage
The service passage itself was most likely constructed from prefabricated concrete pieces. Its height was reportedly 2.30 m, and its width 1.20 m. The passage now provided a direct route from the storage room to the basement of the Reception Hall. From here the staircase connected the basement to the dining room of the Old Reich’s Chancellery. The roof of the service passage was about 80centimeters beneath the garden surface. A layer of tar was painted onto the concrete exterior, to prevent moisture from penetrating into the passage. The house manager of the Reich’s Chancellery was Arthur Kannenbeg. He was also responsible for all kitchen supplies. As the service passage was used for the sole purpose of moving these supplies, it was soon nicknamed by staff the “Kannenberg Passage”
