Group #3 Exploration: Flak Tower

Flak Towers were used by the German Luftwaffe after 1940. They served as a defense against Allied air raids entering any of the cities they guarded with anti-aircraft weaponry. The one in Berlin’s Volkspark Humboldthain was one of three guarding the capital. It was designed by Albert Speer as part of his “Inner Ring of Defense”. This particular tower was a “first generation” Flak Tower that was laid out like a square with a small tower at each corner.

Though this tower was in the West, the Soviet’s attempted to destroy it during the occupation. Because of this, half of the tower, whose walls can be up to 3 meters thick, was destroyed, leaving only two of the four towers.

Today the Volkspark Humboldthain Flak Towers have been made into a historical monument. You can go to the top of the towers and see a panoramic view of the city. There are tours through the bunkers below, but it was closed today. While we were up at the towers there was a group of people tight rope walking between the towers. People were also repelling down the sides of the towers. It was interesting to see how this WWII air raid defense system has been completely reclaimed by the people as a public park.

In a very real way the Flak Towers and the surrounding area are much in line with the idea of Berlin as a city of ruins. Particularly striking is the feeling one gets while standing on the top, feeling as though one was sitting on an ancient abandoned fortress – imbued with the thought that this bulwark has already lasted the test of time.

Supplementing this thought is the picturesque Rose Garden one finds nearby. Cultivated in a secluded space just off the main trail, its architectural surroundings leave one with the impression that, perhaps on a sunny day, one could be enjoying the garden in the ruins of an old Roman estate in Tuscany. With its classically columned arbor and stone walls covered in vegetation, when one sits down and overlooks the scene it is hard not to feel transported away from Berlin and into a land far older.