View Full Version : Berlin 1945: Who ordered the flooding of the underground railway? Who did it?
Dan Dare
02-03-2009, 07:47 PM
One of the enduring mysteries surrounding the final stages of the fall of the Third Reich, and also one of the still most contentious, concerns the flooding of the underground railway system in Berlin. The degree of contentiousness can be gauged from the several threads that have dealt with the topic on the Axis History Forum, including this one (
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10419&start=15) in which a number of Eggo’s aficianados from RODOH and Holocaust Controversies somewhat predictably ride to the defence of the Führerflutungsbefehl (Hitler Flooding Order) argument.
The standard account holds that act was committed was done by SS troops on direct orders from Hitler, in callous disregard for the physical damage and loss of life that would ensue. Hitler would certainly have been aware that the underground system provided sanctuary for thousands of civilians driven out of their homes by fierce street-fighting, as well as thousands of wounds accommodated on hospital trains parked in the tunnels. This is usually adduced as evidence for Hitler’s nihilistic attitude to the German people as a consequence of his intense disappointment in their martial qualities.
According to one account, Hitler gave the order for the flooding during a conference on the night of April 25/26th:
HITLER ORDERS THE FLOODING OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY
http://www.thephora.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-47027.html
