The Anoter.Kiev expedition has returned from western Poland, where we explored the largest underground defensive system in the world. It was built by highly qualified German engineers under conditions of absolute secrecy. The Earthworm Camp — an underground Nazi fortress — has a total tunnel length of more than 30 kilometers. Its underground railway links 17 narrow-gauge freight stations and several dozen pillboxes (combined defensive units with machine-gun and mortar positions).
The Earthworm Camp, “Regenwurmlager,” is the base of the Mezeritsk fortified area, which was built for the defense of Berlin. The Germans called the fortified area “Oder-Warte Bogen” (“Warta-Oder Zone”). In Soviet documents and literature from the 1930s and 1940s, it was called “The Oder quadrangle”.
All entrances to the tunnel system that connects the bunkers are securely sealed, so we had to descend through a ventilation shaft.
Safe and exciting Bunker WW2 Tour in Kyiv!
You can officially reach the underground part of the Mezeritsk fortified area at only two locations, both of which are museums. The remaining entrances are securely closed off with grilles.
The A64 main exit tunnel is the only one that ends in a horizontal exit to the surface.
Narrow-gauge railway tracks were laid throughout the system, connecting the groups of pillboxes (a pillbox is a long-term emplacement, also called a panzerwerk).
Many parts of the system are flooded, but despite the high humidity, the cables in many places still look brand new.
A crossroads at the Friedrich station. The A64 tunnel goes left and ends in a horizontal exit, while a stretch of track to the Emma station goes right.
Our camp at the Friedrich station. You can see the narrow-gauge railway sidings on the floor.
During the expedition, we examined two defensive nodes: York and Gnaisenau. From the central tunnel, the narrower Friedrich tunnel runs toward pillboxes 719 and 720.
Suddenly, the tunnel widened and we found ourselves in the underground excavations of pillbox 720. It was much warmer here.
A monolithic reinforced-concrete staircase leads up to the pillbox’s upper rooms.
The skill of the German builders is impressive. Everything was done very carefully, thoughtfully, and efficiently. The circular openings at the top are the cut-off ends of ventilation pipes.
We climbed up to explore the half-flooded, two-story bunker. The machine-gun turrets in their armored cupolas had not survived, but the mortar and flamethrower were still here. We descended and headed north, with about 8 kilometers to go to reach the York fortified group.
Halfway there, we set up camp to make tea and have a snack. We collected clean groundwater right there in the bunker.
The tunnel crossroads at the dead end of the Dora station.
After making our way back up, we reached the Netopyr Hinge — the huge basement storage area of the York fortified group. Work on this underground section had not been completed, and the floor had not yet been laid. We found a dry spot here and set up camp.
The bunker beneath the A8 shaft had not been finished, so we decided to take a photo on the stairs.
A long journey lay ahead of us — back to the place of our descent through the mine shaft, and then the return to Kyiv.
This huge underground fortress was never finished, and the Red Army broke through in just three days. After prolonged shelling, the garrisons of all the pillboxes surrendered.
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