Remnants of War – Humboldthain Flak Tower

Behold the mighty Humboldthain Flak Tower!

I seem to spend a lot of my days scouring the streets of Berlin looking for Spang, but at least when I walk through Humboldthain I have no trouble finding traces of the fighting – because I can always look up and see the incredible Humboldthain Flak Tower!

When Allied air forces started targeting Berlin with devastating boming raids, the Nazis belatedly created an anti-aircraft defence system for the capital, the centrepiece of which were the three gigantic Flak Towers. – Sationed at the city’s Zoo to the west, the Friedrichshain public park to the east, and here, at the Humboldthain public park in the north of the city.

With the Soviets closing in on Berlin in April 1945, the defensive capabilities of the Flak Towers were quickly converted to offensive use, and the bristling array of guns were lowered so that they could target Soviet tanks.

The towers also became important command hubs and defensive positions for Berlin’s defenders during the battle.

The Humboldthain Flak Tower was 42 meters high, the walls were up to 2.5 metres thick, and the ceiling was 3.8 metres thick. Unsurprisingly, neither the Soviet heavy guns nor the bands of Soviet infantry could find a way to bring down the walls or seize the tower from German control.

Thus, the Humboldthain Flak Tower held out until the very end of the battle, only surrendering to the Red Army on the 3rd of May – a full 24 hours after the official surrender of Berlin.

The Flak Towers at Zoo and Friedrichsain were completely demolished after the war, but the northern part of the Humboldthain tower was not blown up because it was right next to an important junction of train lines which would’ve been damaged by the explosion.

As a result, parts of the Flak tower and the nearby control tower can still be seen today. And you can even go on fantastic underground tours from @berliner_unterwelten_ev to see the interior of the tower!

If you want to hear the incredible story of how the tower played a key role in the fighting around Gesundbrunnen, check out the latest episode of the Europe At War podcast (episode 3.6)!