they actually served a practical purpose.
These concrete towers were unique AIR RAID SHELTERS of
Cheaper to build above ground than to dig bunkers, they were quite effective, as it was possible to cram as many as 500 people inside. Plus the "footprint" of such tower was very small when observed from the air, so it was very hard for the bombers to ensure a direct hit.
First appearing in 1936, they were quickly dubbed "cigarette stubbs" or "sugar beet heads". Officially they were called Winkeltürme (
Hitler was quite impressed by Winkel's concept and blueprints, and ordered full engineering and production support. They were meant to be shelters for factory workers and
heavily industrial areas, such as Giessen.
Here is a cut-away view:
Some towers could accommodate as many as 500 people, and consisted of several floors, twisted in a spiral:
Every floor had some simple furniture:
(interior photos courtesy Michael Grube, Lost Places.De)
Entry was through a hatch door:
The shelter was secured with a heavy lock:
"The Winkelturm in Stuttgart, a Type 2, is in the Feuerbach rail area. The cone shape was designed to defeat bombing attacks by deflecting bombs off the top and sides, toward a reinforced area around the base. However, a Winkelturm of this type in Bremen suffered a direct hit by U.S. bomb in October 1944, which exploded through the roof and killed five people inside."
Focke Wulf and even Daimler Benz factories got some towers, more than 34 were built around steel
Cone shaped towers were complimented by the "Dieter" towers, hexagonal or somewhat mushroom-shaped:
Some towers had a
Today these towers are often considered an eyesore, so the locals turn them into town museums, or even bus stops:
or they try to paint them into something cheerful:
I personally think that their weird and haunted look (combined with a bizarre monumental nature) make them good, though ghastly, reminders of the WWII past.
