STRIZHAVKA, Vinnytsia Oblast – Amid grazing cows and colorful butterflies in a quiet forest in central Ukraine lie a set of nondescript concrete ruins that are stirring up bitter debate.
STRIZHAVKA, Vinnytsia Oblast – Amid grazing cows and colorful butterflies in a quiet forest in central Ukraine lie a set of nondescript concrete ruins that are stirring up bitter debate.
Above ground, there are few signs of the deep underground bunker where Adolf Hitler stayed three times from 1942 to 1943, when the Germans were advancing during World War II. The place was later blown up by the retreating German army.
But the regional government in Vinnytsia Oblast has decided to cast some light on the secrets of the Wehrwolf bunker – the name is a compound of the German words for “werewolf” and “defense” – by developing the site to attract tourists.
Communists and some locals have criticized the move that they say could turn the place into a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis.
The reaction to the decision shows how sensitive Ukrainians remain to a dark part of their country’s history, when the territory of modern-day Ukraine was the battleground between Nazi and Soviet forces.
Even President Viktor Yanukovych has weighed in, saying on a visit to the region in June that a decision on the future of the site should be taken by the local community, adding that Ukrainians “should know their history.”
Only concrete ruins remain of Adolf Hitler’s bunker in a forest near Vinnytsya. (Alexey Furman)
The Wehrwolf site is, at present, a set of concrete and steel ruins jutting out from underground in a forest near the village of Strizhavka. It already draws visitors from all over who are intrigued by its historical significance. Some of the structures are covered with neo-Nazi slogans.
By October, local authorities have promised to install informational stands, provide guided tours and build a memorial complex to commemorate World War II victims.
However, the idea has provoked a storm in the local branch of the Communist Party, which said that trying to attract tourists to the site would be akin to promoting Nazism and could lead to a rise in fascist activity in Ukraine.
“Instead of solving the social problems of war veterans … somebody is crazy about restoring monuments to Third Reich leaders,” said Petro Symonenko, leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
But Lubov Spiridonova, deputy governor of Vinnytsia Oblast, said the aim of the memorial complex will be to tell about people’s suffering under Nazi rule. “Actually, it will even be called the Victims of Fascism memorial,” she said.
Instead of solving the social problems of war veterans … somebody is crazy about restoring monuments to Third Reich leaders.
– Petro Symonenko, leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
The Nazis ruled over large swathes of what is now Ukraine from 1941, when they attacked the Soviet Union, until their retreat in 1944.
The Wehrwolf bunker was one of several of Hitler’s headquarters throughout Europe.
According to Pavlo Melnyk, a local historian, Hitler lived in a small house with a bunker underneath. Its ruins can still be easily found next to a concrete water tank, which was also used as a swimming pool.
The whole complex consisted of 81 wooden houses for Nazi officers and support staff. There was also a vegetable garden, two water wells, a tea house, a barber’s shop, a bathhouse, a sauna and a cinema. The whole territory was surrounded by barbed wire with defense positions and observation points.
Leonid Kopetsky, head of the Vinnytsia War Veterans Association, said he supports the plan to create a memorial at the site to increase people’s awareness of what happened here. When Wehrwolf was built, he was a 14-year old boy, living in the nearby village of Kalinovka, the site of a Luftwaffe airbase.
Kopetsky said he realized Wehrwolf’s importance when he saw prisoners of war – mostly Soviet soldiers – building a road from the airport to the bunker complex in top secret.
“They were guarded by German soldiers and exhausted. Sometimes the Germans allowed the villagers to feed the prisoners,” he recalled.
Historians say that numerous bunkers and tunnels lie underground unexplored, but the budget for the memorial complex is not enough for a wide-ranging excavation and study.
The tourist places are being built thanks to anonymous sponsors, who already finished a parking lot, a playground for kids and a small booth. The Vinnytsia budget will only cover small salaries for 10 employees, who will earn an average of Hr 2,644 per month (about $300).
Researching the bunker’s past remains a task for independent historians. Belgium native Martin Bogaert and his Kyiv colleague Andriy Shvachko were at the site recently taking photographs from high in the trees, trying to detect traces of buildings that used to be there.
Bogaert, who has explored various World War II sites in Ukraine, has gathered hundreds of archive pictures and documents from German Bundesarchiv and Organization Todt, the Nazi engineering group, to try to find out more about the complex.
Bogaert and Shvachko plan to publish a book on the true history on Wehrwolf and promise some surprises. “There were no underground bunkers and tunnels,” he said, contradicting other historians. “Wait until we create a 3D model of the site and publish it.”
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How to get there:
By car: Eight kilometers from Vinnytsya on the Kyiv–Vinnitsya highway, turn off at at Stryzhavka following the “Wehrwolf” road sign.
From Vinnytsya: take a mini-bus, heading from the railway station to Stryzhavka. Get off at the “Camping” stop and walk 20 minutes until you see the road sign.
Worth noting:
Near a parking lot at Wehrwolf, there is a private World War II exhibition worth visiting. It is located in the building of an old Soviet Lastochka resort.
There you can find weapons, clothing, silver and other items on display, including a gas-mask for horses. Check out the café outside the building, designed in the style of a war field kitchen.
The cook, dressed in an old navy uniform, will make you a soldier’s kasha (porridge) and salo (lard) in honey for Hr 12 and Hr 10 respectively.
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Kyiv Post staff writer Kateryna Panova can be reached at [email protected]
