You're correct, and especially regarding the Landesarchiv in Köln. I've been in the old building...when it still stood, several times, and since that time have struggled to find things after the collapse. Hopefully they can make sense of everything when the materials are all settled in their new home. The folks at the old building were very helpful, and tried to remain so even after the collapse.
Of course, "surprises" are found in almost every older city, and the older the more likely they're there. Unexploded ordnance is common in Germany, just as the "controlled detonation" in Hamburg in the middle of August demonstrated. At least German construction people are properly trained to cease work when they find something.
Similarly, construction personnel in Israel "expect" to find things once the digging begins, and are similarly trained, but for different reasons.
My thoughts about Berlin were simply based upon the fact that the bunkers, especially the Fuehrerbunker, were relatively well known. Although it wasn't known to exist prior to the Russian occupation of Berlin, it certainly was well explored during that time. I understand the reasoning behind sealing it, but I do find it a bit "amusing" that now nobody knows exactly where it is. It is, however, known to be "still there."
In Hitler's grand plan for remaking Berlin into "Germania" there were huge tunnels bored or dug, with the idea that through traffic, both rail and automobile, would be buried. Some of those tunnels were built, although never connected to anything specific, and a few are opened now and then for exploration tours. There are also many other "bunkers" that served air-raid or similar purposes, and many of them are toured through the "Underground Berlin" organization. My amusement is primarily that the Fuehrerbunker is now "lost." Given it's significance, I'm just surprised they didn't properly catalog it's location, even if it was kept "relatively secret" to prevent a shrine from developing.
Of course, "surprises" are found in almost every older city, and the older the more likely they're there. Unexploded ordnance is common in Germany, just as the "controlled detonation" in Hamburg in the middle of August demonstrated. At least German construction people are properly trained to cease work when they find something.
Similarly, construction personnel in Israel "expect" to find things once the digging begins, and are similarly trained, but for different reasons.
My thoughts about Berlin were simply based upon the fact that the bunkers, especially the Fuehrerbunker, were relatively well known. Although it wasn't known to exist prior to the Russian occupation of Berlin, it certainly was well explored during that time. I understand the reasoning behind sealing it, but I do find it a bit "amusing" that now nobody knows exactly where it is. It is, however, known to be "still there."
In Hitler's grand plan for remaking Berlin into "Germania" there were huge tunnels bored or dug, with the idea that through traffic, both rail and automobile, would be buried. Some of those tunnels were built, although never connected to anything specific, and a few are opened now and then for exploration tours. There are also many other "bunkers" that served air-raid or similar purposes, and many of them are toured through the "Underground Berlin" organization. My amusement is primarily that the Fuehrerbunker is now "lost." Given it's significance, I'm just surprised they didn't properly catalog it's location, even if it was kept "relatively secret" to prevent a shrine from developing.
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