Werwolf, Nazi military bunker complex in Vinnytsia, Ukraine

Werwolf is a Second World War military bunker complex near Vinnytsia in Ukraine. The complex consisted of 20 wooden barracks and three underground bunkers linked by tunnel passages and surrounded by barbed wire and defensive positions.

Construction ran from late autumn 1941 to mid-1942 under the code name Anlage Eichenhain, directed by Organisation Todt with Soviet prisoners of war and some local Ukrainian workers. Hitler stayed three times: 16 July to 30 October 1942, 19 February to 13 March 1943, and 27 August to 15 September 1943. Directive No. 45 was signed here in 1942 and operational order No. 5 in March 1943. Retreating German troops blew up the bunker entrances and all communications on 15 March 1944.

The name Werwolf means werewolf in German; Hitler preferred the spelling Wehrwolf, echoing Wehrmacht, and the site was first codenamed Anlage Eichenhain (Camp Oak Grove). The complex was built between December 1941 and June 1942, and the 4,000 forced labourers were shot when construction ended. Today the grounds are an open recreation area, with a memorial to labourers buried in gravepits at Stryzhavka nearby.

Route buses leave from Vinnytsia railway station for Stryzhavka settlement, from where the grounds are about twenty minutes on foot. The complex sits somewhat off the main path in the woods, so sturdy shoes and enough time for walking around are advisable.

Alongside the command rooms, the site included a tea house, hairdresser, bathhouse, sauna, cinema and swimming pool for officers. Hitler never used the pool built for him during his three-month stay.