Reichskanzlei Thread

[Br. James]

Mannheim has quite an 'eagle eye!' Indeed Hitler's desk did change from the top photo in #2292 above to the one seen in the lower two photos. I wonder what happened to that other desk...perhaps it was a fill-in until the more elaborate desk in the top photo arrived at the NRK? The less elaborate desk was certainly made to match the credenza against the wall behind the desk; same design and wood colors. And not only did the desk change, but also Hitler's desk chair; the one in the top photo is much more "presidential" than the plain leather chair in the lower two photos! And another change between those two settings is the presence of the two guest or secretarial chairs in front of the desk in the lower photos, while there are no chairs present in the top photo to obscure appreciation of the inlay work. Thanks for calling our attention to these realities, Mannheim!

Br. James

[Mister S]

I've just been working on my blog and noticed something unusual. Much is made of the inlay work on the front of Hitler's desk in his NRK office - Speer describes how stoked Hitler was to see the unsheathed sword and so on - however the original desk seems to have been replaced at least once. I have found more than one photo of a different desk in Hitler's office. Perhaps the 'good' one was out for repairs? (I found all three photos on Pinterest):

Mannheim has quite an 'eagle eye!' Indeed Hitler's desk did change from the top photo in #2292 above to the one seen in the lower two photos. I wonder what happened to that other desk...perhaps it was a fill-in until the more elaborate desk in the top photo arrived at the NRK? The less elaborate desk was certainly made to match the credenza against the wall behind the desk; same design and wood colors. And not only did the desk change, but also Hitler's desk chair; the one in the top photo is much more "presidential" than the plain leather chair in the lower two photos! And another change between those two settings is the presence of the two guest or secretarial chairs in front of the desk in the lower photos, while there are no chairs present in the top photo to obscure appreciation of the inlay work. Thanks for calling our attention to these realities, Mannheim!

I have also noticed the odd desk, and have put some thought into it in the past. I believe it was what was put there initially before the main desk arrived. As I understand, they were in quite a rush to get it ready for their New Years celebration a week into January of 1939 - on Goering's birthday - and they did not have time to finish every detail before then. All of the photos of the odd desk without the elaborate woodwork that I have seen are timestamped as January 1939, so I assume that is the case. I also heard somewhere that the desk in question was Hitler's desk in the alte-Reichskanzlei, so I assume it was just moved for the celebration. I could be wrong, but that seems like the only reason why that desk would be there. I doubt it was in for repairs since Hitler rarely used it to begin with, or so I have heard. Some more details that back up my theory are below.

This is captioned as Hitler's office in the Old Reich Chancellery, with that old desk clearly visible:

In this photo, the caption just says "administrative office, Reich Chancellery", and I assume it is the same office shown above, likely Hitler's own. Pay attention to the sideboard/table under the large painting:

Notice the same sideboard and desk, except in the Neue Reichskanzlei office? This photo is captioned as being from January 1939:

Another photo of the desk, closeup:

Compare to a photo from the publications made about the Reich Chancellery in 1940, once everything was complete. The sideboard in the background was also replaced with one to match the new desk's style.



A snip from Albert Speer's 1940 book "Die Neue Reichskanzlei," found here. Notice the new desk and sideboard again.

Mister S

[Mannheim]

Excellent work, Mister S! I believe you've nailed it in all respects. I'll sleep well tonight!

[Br. James]

Excellent work, Mister S!! You are to be commended!

Interesting, too, that the colors of the woods chosen for Hitler's new desk and credenza seem to have been carried forward from his old set to his new one. There was also a small chest-of-drawers visible in the second photo from the top (above) in note #2297, placed against the right-hand wall, that appears to have been designed to match the old desk and credenza. I wonder where that piece wound up?

Cheers,

Br. James

[Mannheim]

A friend of mine is currently reading Martin Kitchen's biography of Speer. He tells me that Kitchen criticises Speer's NRK because of the number of offices that were underground. Now I haven't read the Kitchen book and my friend may have confused the Fuhrerbunker with the NRK but I am not aware of large numbers of underground offices. Garages and bunkers yes but offices?

[Br. James]

I don't recall ever seeing schematics of the basement level(s) of the New Reichschancellery, though I have read that there was a doctor's/dentist's facility down there which Hitler himself utilized. There were also large underground areas that were used as air raid shelters for the building's staff and for the general public as they passed along Voss Strasse -- possibly some of the garage space?

The height limit for the New Reichschancellery was limited by the Borsig Palace. Speer tried to accommodate the need for more office space in his new building and he was able to add an additional floor to part of the building. But given the dimensions of the major public rooms and hallways on the main level and the finite length of Voss Strasse, there was only so much office space he could provide. So I would not be surprised to find that he did include offices in the basement level of the building...but I'd like to see this on paper!

Br. James

[GregSingh]

I don't recall ever seeing schematics of the basement level(s) of the New Reichschancellery,

Not exactly schematics, but have a look at drawings I attached back in April 2018 in this topic.
They show extent of underground sections. Most of the main building had them.

[Mannheim]

Thanks, Greg! There are certainly some compartments indicated but whether they are offices or not I can't say. I'll go back to my reference books again and see if I can find an answer, Thanks again!

[Br. James]

Thanks for reminding me/us of your helpful posting from last April. As Mannheim responded, there are a number of basement or foundation floor rooms or chambers indicated on those drawings, but none of them are identified as to assigned use. I don't believe Albert Speer provided any schematics or drawings of that lower level of his building either, but I'll have to go back to his book and double-check.

With all good wishes, my friend,

Br. James

[fbeaty1]

Back in 1991 or 2 I visited the Voss Strasse area... and remains of the the RK/ bunker, I also video taped the area. Here are some stills.

[Mannheim]

Wow! Great stuff, fbeaty1! Any idea what the item is in the twelfth shot?

[fbeaty1]

Wow! Great stuff, fbeaty1! Any idea what the item is in the twelfth shot?

So what I was looking into at that time was a small ventilation hole into the bunker. There was debris/metal rods and parts of the building still around and including floor structure closer to the road. Look at this video...

[Mannheim]

Terrific footage fbeaty1. Some nice shots of the (still standing)Transport Ministry annex at 0:16 and the Herrenhaus at 2:00 and some nice shots of the remnants of the Adlon at the end. Thanks for posting!

[Untersberg]

My flat overlooks the former R.K. gardens. Last Monday Ribbentrops Foreign Ministry bunker was uncovered accidentally whilst a new building is being dug foundations. I contacted Berlin Unterwelten and indeed my friend Rudolf v. Ribbentrop who showed great interest. ...Berlin city planning also turned up . I have a few pictures. Some beer bottles etc found inside.

[Mannheim]

Love to see the photos!