Kohnstein
Encyclopedia
The Kohnstein is a mountain, 2 kilometres southwest of the village of Niedersachswerfen
and 3 kilometres northwest of the center of the city of Nordhausen
. Gypsum mining created tunnels in the mountain that were later used as a fuel/chemical depot and for Nazi Germany
factories, including the Mittelwerk
V-2 rocket
factory that used Mittelbau-Dora
slave labor.
(BASF) purchased the property and mined anhydrite for gypsum.
1935 summer: At the suggestion of IG Farben
, the Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft (Wifo, Economic Research Ltd) investigated the mine to centralize a fuel and chemical depot.
1936: Wifo took over the mines to create a highly secret central petroleum reserve. The Government's Industrial Research Association invested some effort in adapting the tunnels and galleries for the storage of critical chemicals like tetra-ethyl-lead.
1937–1940: Wifo phases I and II to extend the tunnels are completed, and the site stored oil, gasoline, and chemicals; as well as stockpiles of chemical poisons.
1943 July (mid): A production planner for Gerhard Degenkolb (i.e., the A-4 Special Committee), Paul Figge, determined the site seemed ideal for A-4 production, but Hermann Göring
initially forbids the use for missile production (Hitler overruled).
1943 August (end): The Armaments Ministry seized the facility from Hermann Göring's Four-Year Plan organization.
1943 November (late): Mittelwerk
GmbH leases the Kohnstein mine from Wifo, the owner.
1943 September early: Albin Sawatzki, Arthur Rudolph
, and about ten engineers move to the Nordhausen plant from Peenemünde.
1943 September: Conversion of tunnels for V-2 rocket
production was started.
1944 Spring: Ventilation and heating construction was completed.
1944 May or June: Mittelwerk had to compress all its facilities into tunnels 21-46, disrupting production.
1945 April 11: After previously entering the Nordhausen plant from the North through the Junkers Nordwerke, 3rd US Armored and 104th Infantry Divisions reached the city of Nordhausen on April 11, 1945 and discovered the dead and sick of the Boelcke Kaserne barracks at Mittelbau-Dora
.
1945 June: The US Army left the Nordhausen plant as required by JCS Directive 1067/14, with parts, machine tools, and documents (including blueprints for the projected A-9/A-10 intercontinental missile) left for the Soviets.
1948 Summer: The Soviet army
demolished both of the entrances of the tunnel system
1995: A new entrance tunnel was dug to former rail Tunnel A. Subsequently a section of 710 m of the tunnel system was opened for visitors.
After the 1990 reunification of Germany, the tunnels were frequently looted by treasure seekers who gained access via the private mine in the north of the Kohnstein. Large parts of the system are flooded by ground water, while other parts have collapsed. Willi Kramer, a German archaeologist and scientist who dived in the tunnel system in 1992 and 1998, estimated that 70 tons of material was stolen. Access through these entrances was secured not until 2004, when the mine went into insolvency.
Niedersachswerfen
Niedersachswerfen is a municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany....
and 3 kilometres northwest of the center of the city of Nordhausen
Nordhausen
Nordhausen is a town at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Nordhausen...
. Gypsum mining created tunnels in the mountain that were later used as a fuel/chemical depot and for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
factories, including the Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk
Central Works was a World War II factory that used Mittelbau-Dora forced labor in 2 main tunnels in the Kohnstein. The underground facility produced V-2 rockets, V-1 flying bombs, and other Nazi weapons.-Mittelwerk GmbH:...
V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
factory that used Mittelbau-Dora
Mittelbau-Dora
Mittelbau-Dora was a Nazi Germany labour camp that provided workers for the Mittelwerk V-2 rocket factory in the Kohnstein, situated near Nordhausen, Germany....
slave labor.
Chronology
1917–1934: The Badische Anilin- und Soda-FabrikBASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
(BASF) purchased the property and mined anhydrite for gypsum.
1935 summer: At the suggestion of IG Farben
IG Farben
I.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
, the Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft (Wifo, Economic Research Ltd) investigated the mine to centralize a fuel and chemical depot.
1936: Wifo took over the mines to create a highly secret central petroleum reserve. The Government's Industrial Research Association invested some effort in adapting the tunnels and galleries for the storage of critical chemicals like tetra-ethyl-lead.
1937–1940: Wifo phases I and II to extend the tunnels are completed, and the site stored oil, gasoline, and chemicals; as well as stockpiles of chemical poisons.
1943 July (mid): A production planner for Gerhard Degenkolb (i.e., the A-4 Special Committee), Paul Figge, determined the site seemed ideal for A-4 production, but Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
initially forbids the use for missile production (Hitler overruled).
1943 August (end): The Armaments Ministry seized the facility from Hermann Göring's Four-Year Plan organization.
1943 November (late): Mittelwerk
Mittelwerk
Central Works was a World War II factory that used Mittelbau-Dora forced labor in 2 main tunnels in the Kohnstein. The underground facility produced V-2 rockets, V-1 flying bombs, and other Nazi weapons.-Mittelwerk GmbH:...
GmbH leases the Kohnstein mine from Wifo, the owner.
1943 September early: Albin Sawatzki, Arthur Rudolph
Arthur Rudolph
Arthur Louis Hugo Rudolph was a German rocket engineer and member of the Nazi party who played a key role in the development of the V-2 rocket. After World War II he was brought to the United States, subsequently becoming a pioneer of the United States space program. He worked for the U.S...
, and about ten engineers move to the Nordhausen plant from Peenemünde.
1943 September: Conversion of tunnels for V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
production was started.
1944 Spring: Ventilation and heating construction was completed.
1944 May or June: Mittelwerk had to compress all its facilities into tunnels 21-46, disrupting production.
1945 April 11: After previously entering the Nordhausen plant from the North through the Junkers Nordwerke, 3rd US Armored and 104th Infantry Divisions reached the city of Nordhausen on April 11, 1945 and discovered the dead and sick of the Boelcke Kaserne barracks at Mittelbau-Dora
Mittelbau-Dora
Mittelbau-Dora was a Nazi Germany labour camp that provided workers for the Mittelwerk V-2 rocket factory in the Kohnstein, situated near Nordhausen, Germany....
.
1945 June: The US Army left the Nordhausen plant as required by JCS Directive 1067/14, with parts, machine tools, and documents (including blueprints for the projected A-9/A-10 intercontinental missile) left for the Soviets.
1948 Summer: The Soviet army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
demolished both of the entrances of the tunnel system
1995: A new entrance tunnel was dug to former rail Tunnel A. Subsequently a section of 710 m of the tunnel system was opened for visitors.
After the 1990 reunification of Germany, the tunnels were frequently looted by treasure seekers who gained access via the private mine in the north of the Kohnstein. Large parts of the system are flooded by ground water, while other parts have collapsed. Willi Kramer, a German archaeologist and scientist who dived in the tunnel system in 1992 and 1998, estimated that 70 tons of material was stolen. Access through these entrances was secured not until 2004, when the mine went into insolvency.