Himmler headquarters in East Prussia

[steve248]

The following information from "Nazi Empire-Building and the Holocaust in Ukraine" by Wendy Lower, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, published in association with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2005.

pp 155-156
"...The story of the use of Jewish labor and the construction of Himmler's headquarters offers an unusual example of how one local SD leader was pressured into complying with the 'Final Solution'. About 300 Jews were also employed in the construction of Himmler's Hegewald headquarters, which contained an airfield, several houses, barracks, elegant living quarters, and a bunker with thick concrete walls. After the war, Zhytomyr's Sipo-SD chief Razesberger provided the only detailed description of the compound, referring to an expensive rug on the wall of Himmler's office.
About the time that Himmler arrived at his Hegewald headquarters (on 24 July 1942)........".

p.260 footnote 104
"Himmler's Hegewald compound was run by more than 100 SS officers and 1,000 SS men; it was bordered by the Teteriv and Gryva rivers, placed along the road from Zhytomyr to Berdychiv at a former Soviet air base. Underground communications were established between the bunkers, airport and headquarters. Today it is a large cargo airport located in Ozerne; two of the German bunkers remain, but the Himmler headquarters were largely destroyed during the Nazi evacuation."

P. 261 footnote 1 (new chapter)
"In June 1941 Himmler chose the code name 'Hegewald' for his East prussia field headquarters fifty kilometers from Hitler's 'Wolfsschanze'. In mid-July 1942 he established his Hegewald headquarters near Zhytomyr and renamed his East Prussian site 'Hochwald'. The German verb 'hegen' means to 'preserve,' 'look after.' or 'nurse.' A 'Hegemeister' is a gamekeeper. In the Nazi context, the term 'Hegehof' was rumored to means a 'breeding yard' where reliable Nordic girls begat children with SS men under the jurisdiction of the SS Race and Settlement Office...".

[Max Williams]

I wonder if there are any aerial photos of the area for strategic bombing? Certainly no viable targets in the locality apart from the high profile field headquarters.
Max.

[Zen Han]

I'm also a bit confused about your newspaper exerpt which does not appear to bear any reference to
Himmler HQs
Max.

It is quite possible, that local peasants didn't know anything what was happened outside the village. Żabinka village is placed on the second shore of lake, than Żabinka camp. Żabinka camp is in high forest and could be absolutely isolated. Prussian people were not pure Germans. The had different mentality. They only took care about theirs family. On the other hand, almost all of prussian people ran away off Russians. If they even knew something, there was no one, they could talk to about it. So this is the reason, that true Hegewaldheim has been discovered just now.
Another gallery of pictures of Żabinka camp http://www.mazury.com.pl/turystyka/mikula/, which can confirm, that long buildings are concrete huts style, and there are many sport playgrounds all around. It's unusual in EP.

Regards

[Zen Han]

Now that you mention the youth camp Zabinka, I have a blurred memory of some photos posted either here on AHF or on another site showing a youth camp where some of the wooden buildings were once used as Himmler's "headquarters" and they still survive. If this is the case, Hochwald, Hegewaldheim and Friedrichsruh are all in different locations. So it would appear that the site of Hochwald was possibly not used prior to November 1942 as a Feldkommandostelle and that Hochwald was a brand new facility. Hegewaldheim (Zabinka) was used as a temporary Feldkommandostelle and Friedrichsruh was an overnight quarters used by Himmler to sleep and live when not working. My guess is that it was an old house or mansion known by its old East Prussian name which has either been renamed or no longer exists.
These findings throw into doubt the claim that Himmler's HQ was at Pozezdrze from 1940/41...
Max.

You can be right I think. I have been visited Pozezdrze a couple times and it looked to me completly unfriendly and like unoccupied. I'd rather suggest, that this HQ was being prepared to be occupied in close future, but not from '41. Himmler really could firstly use Hegewaldheim-Żabinka, and then ukrainian Zhytomyr, and next Pozezdrze if even...
Regards

[Max Williams]

I have confirmed that Himmler did not use Hochwald as his Feldkommandostelle until 2nd November 1942 when he first inspected the new buildings (bunkers) erected by OT. Wendy Lower is mistaken in her notes posted above by Steve. Hochwald was not completed until late summer/early autumn 1942 and Himmler gave it the new name of Hochwald upon its completion. She also completely omits to mention that Hegewald was an old Prussian term used for describing a colony and the term fits perfectly with Himmler's views on ancient German settlements and culture. I can visualise Himmler connecting his headquarters "settlement" consisting of a few buildings with a new "colony."
It's a pity member pucior no longer visits AHF as he lives in Pozezdrze.
Max.

[Zen Han]

Pucior was well known military architecture explorer, but disappeared.
Scanning for him and for Friedrichsruh...

Zen

[steve248]

According to Himmler's own Terminekalender:

Friday 24 July 1942:
12:00 hrs (midday), Start Berlin-Staaken
16:45 hrs, Landung Shitomir followed by "Fahrt zur Feldkommandostelle (Hegewald)"
19:00 hrs, meeting with SS-Gruf. Knoblauch

Saturday, 25 July 1942
09:00 hrs, Herr Kersten
12:00-14:00 hrs. journey Hegewald-Eichenhain
14:15 hrs, lunch with the Führer
19:30 hrs, return journey to Hegewald

Tuesday, 28 July 1942
15:15 hrs, journey to airport
15:40 hrs, Start Shitomir - Reval

Thursday, 6 August 1942
12:00 hrs, begin return journey by air from Helsinki to Mogilew
16:15 hrs, land at Mogilew (talk with v.d.Bach)
18:15 hrs, starts for Shitomir
20:20 hrs, landing and "Fahrt zum Objekt"

Friday, 21 August 1942
17:15 hrs, departs Zamosc for Shitomir
19:15 hrs, lands at Shitomir and "Fahrt zum Hegewald"

Thursday, 27 August 1942
11:00 hrs, departs Hegewald for Shitomir Flugplatz
11:30 hrs, departs Shitomir for Prague

His similar flights by air into Shitomir take place on Sunday 5 Sept 1942 ("Fahrt zur Feld-Kommandostelle), Thursday 17 Sept 1942, Tuesday 22 Sept 1942 (until 25 Sept 1942), Sunday 4 Oct 1942 (until 7 Oct 1942), Sunday 19 Oct 1942 (until 24 Oct 1942), Sunday 1 Nov 1942 (until 2 Nov 1942 at "Feld-Kommandostelle Hegewald); Tuesday 3 Nov 1942 at "Feld-Kommandostelle Hochwald" , landing at Lötzen, where he ""Besichtigung der Neubauten"; the following day, Tuesday 3 Nov 1942, at "Feld-Kommandostelle Hochwald" when at 12:30 "Fahrt zur Wolfsschanze" where he has luch at 14:00 hrs with Bormann and others.

Make of that what you will.

[Max Williams]

Steve,
Not sure what you are driving at here. This information is available in Der Dienstkalender Heinrich Himmlers 1941/42 and the Feldkommandostelle Hegewald referred to in your post is the one located just south of Zhitomir. I already confirmed the use of Hochwald from the diary entry on 2nd November 1942 which indicates that the staff (and Himmler) packed up the Feldkommandostelle Hegewald during that morning before departing at midday. They took off from Zhitomir at 12.30pm and landed at Lötzen at 3.30pm. Himmler then drove to his new command post at Hochwald and inspected the new facility before an evening meal at 8pm. It appears that he stayed overnight in Hochwald, possibly sleeping aboard Sonderzug Heinrich which was kept in a siding within the compound.
It's now my belief that Himmler initially had a temporary field headquarters within easy access to the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia. This was known as Hegewaldheim and also Hegewald (confusing, I know!) He also used his mobile Feldkommandostelle Sonderzug Heinrich at or nearby this location. He slept somewhere called Friedrichsruh. When Hitler moved his FHQ to the Ukraine (Werwolf) in July 1942, Himmler searched for a suitable location for his own field headquarters to be near Hitler. He found a suitable spot south of Zhitomir and it became operational soon after. To confuse matters, he also called this Hegewald and it formed the central location of an intended Germanized colony also called Hegewald. Whilst in residence here, work began in East Prussia on a new permanent Feldkommandostelle at Pozezdrze and when this opened on 2nd November 1942, Himmler named it Hochwald.
Apparently, Hochwald was at a separate location to Hegewaldheim and Friedrichsruh both of which were continued to be used by Himmler for eating and sleeping (and sometimes work.) Hochwald also had a rail spur which allowed Sonderzug Heinrich (later Sonderzug Steiermark) to be kept inside the headquarters perimeter.
We are trying to identify the exact locations of both Hegewaldheim and Friedrichsruh.
Hope that clarifies the situation.
Regards,
Max.

[henryk]

http://www.mapywig.org/m/wig100k/P31_S3 ... )_1932.jpg
1932 Polish topographical map with Friedrichsruh at East 21°51' North 54°20'

[Martinski]

Hi Max!

On page 599 of the "Dienstkalender" the death of RFSS's pilot (Schnäbele und Maurus) are mentioned. On page 602 (Nov 2. 1942) the RFSS visited their graves at the Ehrenfriedhof "Hegewald" before leaving his Feld-Kommandostelle back to "Wolfsschanze".

During my very first Tour of Duty - Eastern Front" in March 2011, I photographed all headstones on the Ehrenfriedhof (now managed by the WAST).

Just checked my files and discovered the names of SS-Obersturmbannführer Schnäbele and Maurus on the thombstones.

The Ehrenfriedhof "Hegewald" is located West of the highway Winniza - Berditschew - Shitomir. On the opposite side (and to the South of it) were the buildings located where the Feld-Kommandostelle RFSS was based. At 200 meters from the former building where the RFSS had his offices, the concrete bomb shelter still is intact and can be visited. It became the icon of this site as the former RKKA - Officers Mess (the RFSS's building) is complete demolished and removed!

Regards - Martin

[Max Williams]

http://www.mapywig.org/m/wig100k/P31_S3 ... )_1932.jpg
1932 Polish topographical map with Friedrichsruh at East 21°51' North 54°20'

Henryk,
Many thanks. This is what I have been looking for. Even with the 1932 map it's very difficult to pinpoint the exact location of Friedrichsruh on a modern map as absolutely everything looks different, not only the place names. The strange thing is that even the flow of the river appears altered, possibly as a result of post-war irrigation works. On your map, Friedrichsruh appears as a small cluster of buildings, or even a single building. Research on the internet has revealed that it was part of the Rittergut Dombrowken estate which had a large mansion with farm buildings. The estate mansion (in ruins) still stood in 2010. The unfortunate thing is that the estate was bisected by the post-war Polish/Russian frontier and Friedrichsruh fell in the Russian sector. I cannot find if anything still exists at Friedrichsruh or even if this is the Friedrichsruh referred to so often in Der Dienstkalender Heinrich Himmlers 1941/42. During the period 1938/45, Dombrowken was known as Eibenburg
Thank you for your input,
Max.

[Max Williams]

Hi Max!

On page 599 of the "Dienstkalender" the death of RFSS's pilot (Schnäbele und Maurus) are mentioned. On page 602 (Nov 2. 1942) the RFSS visited their graves at the Ehrenfriedhof "Hegewald" before leaving his Feld-Kommandostelle back to "Wolfsschanze".

Just checked my files and discovered the names of SS-Obersturmbannführer Schnäbele and Maurus on the thombstones.

The Ehrenfriedhof "Hegewald" is located West of the highway Winniza - Berditschew - Shitomir. On the opposite side (and to the South of it) were the buildings located where the Feld-Kommandostelle RFSS was based. At 200 meters from the former building where the RFSS had his offices, the concrete bomb shelter still is intact and can be visited. It became the icon of this site as the former RKKA - Officers Mess (the RFSS's building) is complete demolished and removed!

Regards - Martin

Martin,
I have a copy of the Dienstkalender and was aware of Himmler's movements on the day he left Hegewald. You omitted to mention that Schnäbele was Himmler's personal pilot (not in the Dienstkalender) and that Maurus was Schnäbele's adjutant. On 26th October 1942, the two men were travelling in Schnäbele's official car and were accompanied by two women when the car was ambushed by Ukrainian partisans outside Zhitomir. The SS men and one of the women (the Volksdeutschen Olga Bartz) were killed in the attack. She was also buried in Hegewald cemetery the same day as the SS men. Himmler attended and spoke at their funeral. The loss of his pilot incensed Himmler who ordered that hostages from the local villages where the attack ocurred were to be shot in reprisal. The partisans were never caught.
Max.

[steve248]

Max

I was pointing out that Himmler was using Hegewald as a headquarters for several months prior to November 1942.

And apropos the tombstone pictures, this Bletchley Park message:

GPD 2121 transmitted 16 November 1943
An Rf.SS, SS Führungshauptamt BERLIN und HSSuPf. SPERBER.
Ausbildungsbatl. Ost kämpft erfolgreich in HEGEWALD, Höhe Heldenfriedhof. 9 Uhr Standortkdtr. betreten. Alle Hauptgebäude restlos vernichtet. Nach Fall SHITOMIR einziehe HEGEWALD.
Von JUNGRUNZ (sic – Jungkunz), SS Oberführer.

[Max Williams]

Steve,
Much appreciated. So Jungkunz appears to have carried out his orders to destroy the facilities at Hegewald just prior to the fall of Zhitomir in November 1943?
As an aside, the remains of Theodor Eicke were interred at Hegewald after being moved from the original grave when the area was overrun by the Red Army. In November 1943 the Eicke grave at Hegewald was abandoned when the Germans withdrew.
Max.

[Max Williams]

I've now managed to identify the area marked as Friedrichsruh (on the 1932 map) and there is nothing but trees shown on Google Earth. If there was building there in 1942, it is no longer visible from the air, suggesting that the building was either temporary or it was demolished. Without eye witness testimony or surviving documentary/photographic evidence, I doubt it will be possible to solve this issue. The added complication is that the location of the 1932 Friedrichsruh is now just inside Russian territory and therefore local enquiries might be hindered.
Max