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The Reich Chancellery (German Reichskanzlei, Imperial Chancellery) was the traditional name of the office of the German Chancellor (Reichskanzler). Today the office is usually called Kanzleramt (Chancellor's Office), or more formally Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellor's Office).
The term Reichskanzlei also refers to various buildings that housed the upper echelons of Germany's government.
New Reich Chancellery (1938)
In 1938, Hitler assigned his favorite architect Albert Speer to build the new Reich Chancellery, requesting that the building be completed within a year. Near the complex was the underground Führerbunker, where Hitler committed suicide at the end of World War II in 1945. The new Reich Chancellery had the address Voss-strasse 6, and the old Reich Chancellery, located along Wilhelmstrasse, probably had the address Wilhelmstrasse 77.
Hitler commissioned Speer to build the Chancellery in late January, 1938. Hitler commented that the old Chancellery, which dated from Bismarck's time as chancellor in the 1870s, was "fit for a soap company" but was not suitable as headquarters of the German Reich. Hitler assigned Speer the work of creating grand halls and salons which "will make an impression on people".
The German dictator placed the entire Voss-strasse at Speer's disposal. Speer was given a blank check — Hitler stated that the cost of the project was immaterial — and was instructed that the building be of solid construction and that it be finished by the following January in time for the next annual diplomatic reception to be held in the new building.
Speer completed the task of clearing the site, designing, constructing, and furnishing the building in less than a year, with the New Reich Chancellery being dedicated by Hitler on January 10, 1939.
In his memoirs, Speer describes the impression of the Reichskanzlei on a visitor:
- From Wilhelmsplatz an arriving diplomat drove through great gates into a court of honor. By way of an outside staircase he first entered a medium-sized reception room from which double doors almost seventeen feet high opened into a large hall clad in mosaic. He then ascended several steps, passed through a round room with domed ceiling, and saw before him a gallery 480 feet long. Hitler was particularly impressed by my gallery because it was twice as long as the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
- Hitler was delighted: "On the long walk from the entrance to the reception hall they'll get a taste of the power and grandeur of the German Reich!" During the next several months he asked to see the plans again and again but interfered remarkably little in this building, even though it was designed for him personally. He let me work freely.
The series of rooms comprising the approach to Hitler's reception gallery were decorated with a rich variety of materials and colors and totalled 725 feet (220 meters) in length. The gallery itself was 480 feet (145 meters) long. Hitler's own office was 400 square metres in size.
From the exterior, the chancellery had a stern, authoritarian appearance. From the Wilhelmplatz, visitors would enter the Chancellery through the Court of Honor (Ehrenhof). The building's main entrance was flanked by two bronze statues by sculptor Arno Breker: "Wehrmacht" and "Partei" ("Armed Forces" and "Party").
This immense construction project was finished 48 hours ahead of schedule — a fact that impressed Hitler and helped Speer gain a reputation of being a good organizer. This reputation, and Hitler's fondness for Speer played a part in the one-time architect becoming Armaments Minister during the war.
Hitler is said to have been greatly impressed by the building and was uncharacteristically effusive with his praise for Speer, lauding the architect as a "genius". The chancellor's immense study was a particular favorite of the dictator.
The large marble-topped table in Hitler's study served as an important part of the Nazi warlord's military headquarters, the study being used for military conferences from 1944 on. On the other hand, the Cabinet room was never used for its intended purpose.
Some 4000 workers were employed in the construction of the New Reich Chancellery. Speer recalls that the whole work force — masons, carpenters, plumbers, etc. were invited to inspect the finished building. Hitler then addressed the workers in the Sportpalast.
The New Reich Chancellery was badly damaged during the Battle of Berlin at the end of World War II in 1945.
After the war, the remains of the Chancellery were demolished by orders of the Soviet occupation forces. Parts of the building's marble walls were used to build the Soviet war memorial in Treptower Park and to renovate the nearby war-damaged Mohrenstraße U-Bahn station.
See also
References
- Allied Intelligence Map of Key Buildings in Berlin (Third Edition, 1945)
External links
"Reich Chancellery"