Humboldthain Flak Tower, the last line of air defence - Historic Berlin

Historic Berlin www.historicberlin.com

In the final years of the war, skies above Berlin were frequently thick with allied planes on bombing missions. As the scream of sirens echoed across the city, frightened Berliners flocked to the formidable bombproof Humboldthain Flak Tower to seek shelter.

When the air war entered a new and deadlier phase, one of the main perils for pilots was the possibility of a direct hit from antiaircraft guns on top of the giant flak towers constructed in the Humboldthain, Tiergarten and Friedrichshain public parks in 1941.

The Germans fought viciously from the roofs of these giant buildings – sending thousands of explosives shooting into the skies in the hope of hitting an enemy aircraft.

The Humboldthain tower was considered one of the safest in Berlin, with a massive roof arsenal consisting of 128mm and 20mm antiaircraft guns, a sophisticated communications network and a huge storage of essential supplies, including medical provisions and foodstuffs.

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