Projects

Teichstrasse Surgical Bunker

Further progress and the current situation

In December 2004, members of the association began the repair work. In this way, as planned, a new roof covering could be mounted and the second exit uncovered, allowing the interior to slowly dry out. On the “Day of the Open Monuments” in September 2005 and 2006, we welcomed around 150 guests to the bunker for the first time. In 2007 and 2008, we were busy with further securing, repairing and finishing the fixtures in the structure. The focus of the work was now mainly on the interiors. This required securing loose wall tiles, restoring the sanitary facilities and rebuilding the distillation apparatus true to the original. The highlight - as a wonderful Christmas present - was the delivery of two original operating tables in December 2008, which can now be seen in the former operating theatre. Both tables, including transport, were sponsored by MAQUET GmbH & Co. KG in Rastatt, which we were very pleased about.

After the site had been properly surveyed and documented, we applied to the Berlin State Office for Protection of Monuments status in September 2007, in order to secure the historic structure for the long term. In October 2007, we were assured of a “speedy assessment” by the State Monuments Office. On June 11th 2009, we received the good news that “the surgical bunker at 65 Teichstrasse had been entered in the list of monuments on April 27th 2009”. So, the repair and restoration work we had carried out on a voluntary basis was not in vain.

By 2012, the fixtures in the facility had been completed, for example, with a missing second original end door (salvaged from the former surgical bunker in Friedrichshain hospital) or with fittings and sanitary objects (salvaged from the surgical bunker in the Urban hospital). On October 24th 2012, the project was awarded the “Bauherrenpreis des Bezirkes Reinickendorf von Berlin” (Property Development Award of the district of Reinickendorf in Berlin) in the category of “Exceptional Initiatives”. The Berlin Underworlds Association received this award for the “restoration and equipping of the Teichstrasse surgical bunker for guided tours in keeping with its status as a listed building”, thus preserving this facility as a unique historical structure for future generations.

Today, the surgical bunker can be visited with our expert guides as part of a Tour or through the association’s educational seminars. Extended documentation of the history of Berlin’s surgical bunkers in general, and of the former hospital site, was also completed. 

In 2018, we started to build an outdoor exhibition around the surgical bunker. First, a riveted tubular bunker for eight people was delivered from Frohnau. This unique piece, which was purchased by the association in 2015, still has to be restored and is being protected from the elements by a roof for the time being. 

In 2019, the wastewater pump station from the bunker at 29a Kurfürstenstrasse in Berlin-Lichterfelde, which was previously on display in the open-air exhibition at the Museum im Alten Wasserwerk, was added as another large exhibit. At the start of November 2019, our association donated two English oaks, planted directly outside the surgical bunker, which will provide a replacement for the weeping willow that was felled due to storm damage.

This was followed in November 2021 by the installation of a cylindrical air-raid shelter (a so-called fire watch stand) made of steel, which came to light during excavations in Haselhorst (Berlin-Spandau) and could be secured. It, too, is to be restored as soon as times improve.

Further plans include the reconstruction of an air raid cover trench by the Stolte company from the Second World War, which was salvaged in October 2021. The structure, made of prefabricated reinforced concrete parts, is to be rebuilt true to the original in the meadow behind the surgical bunker and will enrich the on-site outdoor exhibition in the future.

From 2022, a bilingual information board will also inform visitors about the history of the hospital grounds and the surgical bunker.

Dietmar Arnold (January 11th, 2022)

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