Flak Towers: The Continuing Legacy of the Luftwaffe
The Flak Towers that protected the Third Reich were considered invulnerable. Some of these massive buildings still remain. But what should be done with them?
In 1940 Adolf Hitler was a very angry man. The RAF had launched a successful raid on the German capitol of Berlin and something had to be done to protect the city. He ordered the building of three enormous flak towers – and they were to be constructed in just six months. Other cities in the Reich soon followed this example and today these massive concrete and steel leviathans still dominate the skylines in some places. The question still causes huge debate though – what should be done with them?
It is easy to shrug the shoulders and dismiss the amount of protective power offered by a flak tower. It isn’t until the full scale of these constructions is revealed that one realizes that they were designed to afford the maximum repellent possible to enemy aircraft. They were, to a greater extent, considered invulnerable. The three that encircled Berlin were, on their own, able to protect the city – such was their enormity. The ones which survive, such as the one in Vienna above, serve as a poignant reminder of a continent in a state of total war.
The Flak Towers (in German, Flaktürme) were effectively above ground anti-aircraft positions in the shape of a huge blockhouse. They were manned by the Luftwaffe and the fire power was frightening. As well as dealing out death in the sky, the towers also served another purpose. Their three and a half meter thick walls meant , too, that they could be used as above ground air-raid shelters by countless thousands of civilians. They saved lives as well as destroying them.
They remain imposing today, such as the tower in modern day Hamburg, above. As such they became a symbol of the absolute power of the Reich that they represented and protected. The anti-aircraft installations on the roof were something to behold. They also contained a retractable radar dish. In times of an air raid the radar dish could be withdrawn in to a steel and concrete dome. The design – although hurried – did the trick. It is said that Hitler took an interest in their construction and the dormant artist in him came back to life. He made several sketches of the towers in their design stage.
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45 Comments
robot makes music, posted this comment on Aug 7th, 2009
If we try to bury and forget the past, we too will forget it’s lessons. If we forget it’s lessons, it *will* happen again.
That’s what they mean when they say that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.
jim, posted this comment on Aug 7th, 2009
They must be kept. We shall need them in the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.
Juancav, posted this comment on Aug 8th, 2009
There they ar showing us past wars and warnig us not to repeat..Excellent article.
Chris Stonecipher, posted this comment on Aug 8th, 2009
Interesting piece of history RJ. I think that they remind of us the past so maybe future events like that don’t repeat themselves.
Capital, posted this comment on Aug 11th, 2009
“The RAF had launched a successful raid on the German capitol of Berlin and something had to be done to protect the city.”
CAPITAL
CAPITAL
CAPITAL
CAPITAL
Originalas, posted this comment on Aug 14th, 2009
It was in the game “Medal of Honor Airborne” 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KsVreBisvU
Sapnininkas, posted this comment on Aug 14th, 2009
Amazing! Thanks .
Neil C, posted this comment on Aug 16th, 2009
Smashed to bits.. in the peace of the night.
“Each man kills the thing he loves, each man kills the thing he loves, la la la, la la la laa…”
benposch, posted this comment on Aug 16th, 2009
good luck dismantling them. they tried in vienna, at the augarten to be exact. a (italian, i believe) demolition specialist packed the tower with tons of explosives, set it off, and only managed to break every window in a 1km radius. something like 3 million euros worth of damage i think, and they didn’t put a dent in the 10meter thick rebar reinforced concrete walls. they’re thinking about turning it into a posh hotel now, from what i hear.
i personally believe they should be left as a reminder to the future of our species: don’t do this again.
Kirsten, posted this comment on Aug 16th, 2009
I’ve been inside of the Humboldthain Tower – there is an organization that offers a variety of guided tours inside the Humboldthain Tower and other remains of the WW2 in Berlin, such as an old fallout shelter for about 3,000 people.
The Humboldthain Tower isn’t accessible all year around due to reasons of nature conservation: it is during winter a shelter for bats. Therefore, guided tours are only available from April to October every year. But they are really interesting. During the tour the guide told us that they needed more than 30 or 40 tons of TNT to blast up half of the Humboldthain Tower. For the Zoo Tower, there was much more TNT needed – I heard of about 90 tons. For more infos about those tours, go here: http://berliner-unterwelten.de/guided-tours.3.1.html. (Infos available in different languages)
Today, there is a lookout point on top of the Humboldthain Tower from which you can have a good look at the city silhouette.
Kyo, posted this comment on Aug 18th, 2009
Leave it there, we never know when zombies are going to come.
Freaking zombies.
miki, posted this comment on Aug 21st, 2009
amazing, complete and interesting….
roger the barker, posted this comment on Oct 10th, 2009
Silly to demolish such awesome buildings – they can always be reused for communication towers. Should every castle in Europe be demolished because of some past political incorrectness ?
JJ, posted this comment on Nov 11th, 2009
I should say:preserve these towers because they are a part of our past.WW 2 has never to be forgotten and these towers are a part of it!
Plus it has quit an achievement to bild them.We can learn from it.
Dominik, posted this comment on Jan 9th, 2010
I would have loved to see Hitler’s Germania (as designed by him). No(!), I am not a neo-nazi or any other such thing, but the German designs, flat towers, aircraft, armed forces were something to envy and admire at the same time. The surviving bunkers are solid as tanks today, the Flak Towers (the untouched ones) are as invincible today as they were in 1940/1941. The German engineers were incredible smart and efficient….something the world lacks today.
Excellent article sir. Thank you for the information. Happy New Year 2010 to all! May such nasty wars never happen again!
Dominik, posted this comment on Jan 9th, 2010
I would have loved to see Hitler\’s Germania (as designed by him). No(!), I am not a neo-nazi or any other such thing, but the German designs, flat towers, aircraft, armed forces were something to envy and admire at the same time. The surviving bunkers are solid as tanks today, the Flak Towers (the untouched ones) are as invincible today as they were in 1940/1941. The German engineers were incredible smart and efficient….something the world lacks today.
Excellent article sir. Thank you for the information. Happy New Year 2010 to all! May such nasty wars never happen again!
Vard? Reikšm?s, posted this comment on Feb 8th, 2010
Wow. These concrete buildings are so unique. It is worth to come and see in real .
Murray, posted this comment on Feb 20th, 2010
I’ve just seen the one in Vienna and believe me the photos do not do it justice. It is immense.
Staggering that there is virtually no local acknowledgment of it.
I think it should be preserved as a monument to the sheer immensity of resources involved in war.
chris73, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
I love stuff about WW2!
raman13, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very good article. Please see my topics. Thanks
thestickman, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
wow! 
Lauren Axelrod, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
I never knew about these. I knew there were underground tunnels, but I wasn’t aware of these.
nobert soloria bermosa, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
pretty cool,
Francois Hagnere, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very interesting piece. I agree to say that nobody should ever forget the past!
Very best wishes,
François
cebuanaeyez, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
You make a great history teacher (and photographer)!
Ronald Russel, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very nice Article….it reminds us of one of man’s darkest hours.
Ruby Hawk, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
If I heard of these towers I had forgotten. it seems a shame to destroy them if they could be useful for apartments, malls, or some such.
historigal, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very well written. I love how you presented historical details in a very interesting manner. Thank you.
Rana Sinha, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very interesting article. It’s good to see that they have invented peace time usage for these ones.
NickFord, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Good work
tomspix, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Great story!
Never knew of these towers while I was in West Germany.
DA Cournean, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very interesting! Well done…
Lucas Dié, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Excellent – the discussion has been going on for years in Germany …
farbhof1, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Never knew about these towers! Very interesting and informative article.Thanks.
Fernando T., posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Very Cool! I wished we learned about this in history class.
overwings, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
I never heard of these towers. Nice history lesson.
juancho007, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
cool . thanks
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Imposing and impressive structures.
D Michael L, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
Now THAT was interesting. I didn’t even know those towers existed. (Yes yes I’m very WW2 ignorant haha) I was amazed about how fierce they were. I suspected a bomber back then could do the trick but i guess I was wrong.
But wow! To think that they’re being used today as different facilities that are….kid friendly. The Aquarium part made me chuckle a bit and shiver at the same time.
Anyways thanks for the fascinating read again!
God Bless!
Avaxier, posted this comment on Mar 15th, 2010
So, this is how Flak Towers looks like! Looks so impressive! Thank you for sharing!
Parvez Jamasji, posted this comment on Mar 23rd, 2010
This could be put to many good uses : to teach anything, from Art to Music; to meditation, to sick bay; et al.
It would be a shame to spend money to destroy, destroy history.
Or be ostrich like & refuse to acknowledge Reality, in the hope it will go away – fasionable these days; under some pretext or the other.
& as WE can’t get rid of human nature. these could indeed be used for shelter, from raveges of an angry Nature
Waste Not, Want Not !
Dave Hall, posted this comment on Mar 28th, 2010
Interesting article and great photos. Thanks for sharing them.
The same arguments could be made for any huge buildings from the past. The Coluseum in Rome was the site of countless deaths of gladiators, Christian martyrs, and exotic animals. The Tower of London contained a prison and torture chambers for several centuries. There are countless castles scattered all over Europe and the Middle East that stand as reminders of the brutal warfare of the middle ages. Pyramid shaped temples in Mexico and Central America were the sites of bloody human sacrifices.
Should we tear them down because of their association with a brutal history?
The only real difference between them and the Flak Towers is a few hundred years.
F. M., posted this comment on Apr 4th, 2010
Having been to both the flak tower in Vienna and the one in Humboldthain, Berlin (yesterday!!), I think that these towers more than deserve preservation. They’re a stark reminder of the war that ravaged Europe and at the same time impressive architectural structures. Doesn’t “Whoever forgets the past is doomed to repeat it” ring a bell at all?? It only takes a few skilled manipulators and one or two well placed crises to put democracy severely at risk (as we have seen several times in the past couple of decades even!) so we ignore the past (and the remains that are still standing today!) at our peril.
Dave, posted this comment on May 3rd, 2010
Great article. Have to ask my friend’s in Berlin about them.
Joe Dorish, posted this comment on Aug 7th, 2009
IDK what they should do with them but I would certainly visit them as a tourist. Quite interesting to see in person I would bet.