Aspects of life and preparations in the bunker
Used with commission by Berliner Unterwelten e.V.
When first entering an air-raid bunker, one will notice the air locks. The air locks were a key component to the air raid shelters to keep potential poisonous chemical weapons out of the bunker. These green doors are what guarded the bunkers from people who were denied entrance. The primary design of these doors were to create an air tight seal and keep out any chemical gas.
This air tight seal was a good idea for keeping out any chemical warfare but it also severely limited the available air supply in the bunker to about 15 minutes in some cases. The air levels were monitored with three burning candles. One was to be placed on the floor, then next was midway up the wall, and the last was at the ceiling. When the candle on the ground went out its was time to leave the bunker because all the oxygen was gone. It was better to take your chances above ground because staying in the bunker was guaranteed not to end well.
Used with commission by Berliner Unterwelten e.V.
As shown to the left, the display case is full of items recommended to own during the war. In the top right of the picture is a gas mask. This was advised to the public as one of the most essential war time items they needed to own. They had varying sizes to accommodate adults and infants. If one was not allowed to take refuge in a bunker, it was still advised that one own all of these essentials. The three candles were also sold as a part of the essential war time preparations shown in the bottom right of the display case. The officials in Berlin also wanted to help get women involved in the war effort, so they would issue special magazines for them. In these magazines would be the usual things women would want to read about such as cooking and clothing. However, they would also put instructions of what to do during an air raid, how to prepare for the war, and many other war related articles.
Used with commission by Berliner Unterwelten e.V.
During the war the extended lengths of the air raids and the war created a shortage of firewood and lack of materials to burn for heating homes and shelters. These toilets functioned by depositing a layer of earthen material over top of the waste. When the toilet had filled and dried, this waste contained a valuable source of fuel for people to heat homes and shelters.
Used with commission by Berliner Unterwelten e.V.
An aspect of the war time that is sometimes overlooked is that they changed the word for toilet “Toilette” to the shorter “Abort” to save paint and more importantly money during the war effort. Toilette in the common pronunciation today.