Kuno AG Werk I

[Full title: Waldwerk Kuno AG Werk I - Die Endmontage der Messerschmitt Me 262 und die Rolle des KZ-Aussenlagers Burgau - Fakten und Hintergründe zur NS-Rüstungsindustrie und Zwangsarbeit im ländlichen Schwaben] Martina Wenni-Auinger, Verlag Martina Wenni-Auinger, Burgau, Germany, 2022, ISBN 978-3-00-072621-7. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

Cover image © by Verlag Martina Wenni-Auinger, 2022.

In October 2020, this blog reviewed Alexander Kartschall's truly fascinating and important book Messerschmitt Me 262 - Geheime Produktionsstätten [Messerschmitt Me 262 - Secret Production Facilities]. The review noted, not least, Kartschall's willingness to examine not just the historical, technical and archaeological aspects of the topic, but also the crucially significant (and yet frequently ignored) subject matter of the slave labour system associated with German late war aircraft production.

In her new book Kuno AG Werk I, Martina Wenni-Auinger focuses on one of the aforementioned secret Me 262 production facilities, the forest assembly factory that lends the book its name, located near Burgau in Bavaria. By dedicating the entire book to this one facility, Wenni-Auinger is able to investigate both relevant history and operations in much greater detail, and the book's narrative by necessity seamlessly and meticulously interweaves information on Messerschmitt's company-internal machinations, the construction and operation of the forest facility and the affiliated Burgau concentration camp, the extensive use of slave labour, and many details regarding the Me 262.

Kuno AG Werk I is indeed a well-made and absorbingly detailed publication. Its full title translates to Forest Factory Kuno AG Werk I - the final assembly of the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the role of the auxiliary Burgau concentration camp - facts and background about the national-socialist armament industry and forced labour in rural Swabia. Given that the book's scope transcends the mere technological side of the topic at hand, it also presents extremely distressing and sombre facets. At a format of 30 x 21 cm and with 272 printed pages (containing, thankfully, a generous number of photos and illustrations, both in black/white and colour), it provides plenty of room for a thorough examination into all aspects affiliated with the Kuno facility still researchable today.

The author is a local historian in the very city of Burgau; she served as the head of the Burgau City Archive and of the Museum of the City of Burgau (where she curated an exhibition on the Kuno facility in 2017) and currently is the deputy mayor of Burgau. The book is based on extensive archive research and thus makes abundant use of primary sources. Intriguingly, numerous of the original contemporary documents consulted are also reproduced photographically in the book.

Kuno AG Werk I starts with a description of the late-war situation in Swabia, namely the political and governmental structure and its rather complex interplay with the Messerschmitt firm. The deficiencies, misuse and manipulation encountered in Messerschmitt's company-internal organization as described here are staggering. This introduction is followed by a look at specific efforts to disperse some of Messerschmitt's aircraft production to Burgau, resulting in the establishment of the Kuno Werk I.

But the book's most poignant and significant content is, in my view, the subsequent comprehensive section on the Burgau concentration camp, the facility that provided the slave labour force needed for the assembly of the Messerschmitt jet fighter. In this, Wenni-Auinger sheds light on the establishment and operation of the camp, on its Jewish inmates, on the harrowing conditions encountered by the inmates during excruciatingly long transport journeys to the camp in railroad freight wagons, and on details regarding the concentration camp guards and their utterly brutal conduct towards the slave labour inmates.

These 70-odd pages of the book are crucial, and, unsurprisingly, they are utterly distressing to read. Even the plain act of perusing the sample inmate inflow lists reproduced therein is devastating. Somewhat unusually for a book on the topic of German late-war aircraft production - and thus commendably - the author also attempts to transcend mere numbers and accounts by providing personal biographical details for a number of representative inmates, some of whom suffered agonizing deaths and some of whom survived against all odds.

Having thus established the traumatic reality endured by Kuno Werk I's slave labour workforce, Wenni-Auinger next describes the construction and operation of the factory, the significance of the adjacent Autobahn, and the forest assembly and nearby testing of the Me 262. Thankfully, this also includes a list of the Werknummern of the aircraft completed there. Wherever possible, this list is illustrated; unsurprisingly, this list is, due to the nature of events at the end of the war, vastly incomplete. The book further provides uncounted photos of the jet fighters found at this location, and it also includes an unexpected amount of technical details regarding the aircraft itself.

The narrative is concluded by an account of the arrival of US armed forces at Kuno Werk I as well as a look at the remnants of the factory as they can be found today. The final pages of the book are dedicated to a list of primary and secondary sources as well as abundant footnotes providing various further details, not least regarding the photos included.

In spite of minor nitpicks (some of the photos would have benefitted from an indication of the year they were taken, e.g. on page 208), Kuno AG Werk I is an extremely important effort to complete the history of the Messerschmitt Me 262. Martina Wenni-Auinger must also be commended for the extent of her research and her dedication to provide the reader with a frank and comprehensive account of the staggering human cost associated with the frantic German endeavour to stem the inevitably turning tide of the war by means of advanced aviation technology. Highly recommended.

Messerschmitt Me 262 - Geheime Produktionsstätten

Alexander Kartschall, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany, 2020, ISBN 978-3-613-04258-2. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

Cover image © by Motorbuch Verlag, 2020.

This is Alexander Kartschall's second book dedicated to the dispersed late-war production of the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. In 2017, Kartschall, an engineer active in the automotive industry, self-published the formidable, high-quality publication Produktion der Messerschmitt Me 262 – Von Waldwerken und Untertage-Verlagerungen zu Grossbunkern [Messerschmitt Me 262 Production – From Forrest Factories And Underground-Dispersals To Large Bunkers]. This was a deeply intriguing and well-illustrated hardback study of the concerted and concurrently desperate efforts of the Luftwaffe's leadership in 1944/45 to ensure the continued mass production of one of its most advanced aircraft in the face of the utter devastation caused as the war, begun a few years earlier by Germany, inevitably and ferociously returned to its origin.

Kartschall's new book now expands on this already impressive previous work. Messerschmitt Me 262 – Geheime Produktionsstätten [Messerschmitt Me 262 – Secret Production Facilities] is similar in physical scope to its predecessor, with a format of 25 x 18 cm, 240 printed pages, and 150 photos & illustrations, while containing nine major chapters and a number of elucidatory appendices. The narrative commences with a brief recounting of the gestation of the Me 262 jet fighter before delving, in chapter two, into the actual subject matter of the production of an advanced aircraft under increasingly desperate late-war conditions.

The book subsequently briefly details the history of the Messerschmitt aircraft company as a whole to then focus on the manufacturing of the Me 262 in particular. Of considerable interest is chapter five, describing the vast number of production facilities involved in the Me 262 program and their locations. Given this information, it becomes increasingly clear what a colossal undertaking it was to arrange for the dispersing of this enormous network of plants and subcontractors. Chapter six and seven pay testimony to this, followed by the descriptions in chapter eight of the monumental bunker systems both planned and constructed to protect the assembly of the jet fighter from the Allied bombing campaign. Also highlighted in these chapters are logistics and production procedures employed in these facilities.

The book's last chapter is also its most extensive; it provides copious information on the various forest factories which ironically served as the quasi-primitive final production facilities of what was one of the most sophisticated flying machines of its period. As with the rest of the book, this chapter, too, features numerous photos, maps, drawings, and plans. Kartschall's research and layout approach thus makes for incredibly absorbing and appealing reading.

But even all of the above is still not what makes Messerschmitt Me 262 – Geheime Produktionsstätten an absolutely essential publication. One of the most important points of Kartschall's work is that he doesn't skirt around the issue of how Messerschmitt, the Luftwaffe, and Nazi Germany were able to accomplish such enormous efforts in weapons manufacturing, building construction, and dispersal activities. The facilitation of such undertakings under wartime circumstances that became more adverse by the week required the involvement of the SS, concentration camps, and substantial quantities of slave labour. The tasks of simultaneous mass production of the aircraft and construction of bunkers and underground facilities proceeded under appallingly horrid conditions, with no regard whatsoever for human welfare and the value of human life.

Whereas many other publications on late war Luftwaffe subject matters either casually avoid this topic or at best shed limited light on it, the German slave labour system and its staggeringly brutal and tragic consequences on the individuals thus subjugated and abused constitute one of the central themes of Kartschall's publication. This does not just concern the text of Kartschall's book; at the end of the day, nearly every single image in his book is directly affected by it, be it photos of freshly assembled aircraft or aircraft components, pictures of dispersal facilities, tunnels, or bunkers under construction, or the photos and drawing of the camps themselves.

Alexander Kartschall certainly deserves praise for the integration of all of these indispensable facts to provide a documentation as complete as is possible given the scope of these 240 pages. And for doing so in a straightforward, non-ideological manner. Moreover, it is also nice to see Motorbuch Verlag, once among the main publishing houses for any topic linked to historic German aviation, return to form by choosing to release this important and absolutely fascinating book.

After The Battle Magazine: Nordhausen

Karel Margry, After The Battle magazine no. 101, Battle of Britain International Ltd., London, England, 1998. Magazine article, illustrated, published in English.

Cover image © by Battle of Britain International Ltd., 1998.

As related in my review of Jean Paul Pallud's After The Battle magazine article First Manned Rocket Launch (issue no. 151), posted here on June 4, 2013, After The Battle is a quarterly military history specialist publication, committed to an extremely well researched and deeply absorbing "then and now" approach, and focused on the period of World War II. Moreover, After The Battle magazine's articles are abundantly illustrated, and the photos provided are expertly captioned. This is something I consider essential, but it is all too often lacking, even in dedicated special interest publications.

After The Battle no. 101 is one of the magazine's occasional issues to contain material regarding the German aerospace industry of the period. For anybody reasonably well versed in German history of the 20th century, the name Nordhausen will be inextricably linked to the abysmal existence of the Mittelwerk GmbH underground production facilities in the Kohnstein mountain and the associated Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. The Mittelwerk facility was created with the aim to protect the manufacture of some of Germany's most advanced aerospace products - Fieseler Fi 103 missiles, A4 rockets, and Junkers jet engines - from Allied bombing campaigns. It was not least the bombardment of the Peenemünde rocket research centre on the shores of the Baltic Sea in August of 1943 that revealed how vulnerable Germany had become to air attacks as the war dragged on. Mittelbau-Dora, on the other hand, housed the inmates who were forced to construct both the concentration camp itself and the tunnel system of Mittelwerk.

The enormous Mittelwerk underground manufacturing plant and the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp are prime examples of the immeasurable ruthlessness applied by the National Socialist leadership in order to vainly attempt to avert an inevitable, self-inflicted, and utterly complete defeat. The associated cost in terms of human suffering was staggering and yet of no consideration whatsoever to the powers that be. In spite of such colossal and infinitely inhuman efforts, however, both the construction of the facilities and the actual mass production of rockets, missiles, and engines at Mittelwerk came too late in the war to still effect a perceptible impact - other than the indescribable human misery perpetrated at Mittelwerk and Mittelbau-Dora, that is.

Nordhausen is the main feature of After The Battle no. 101. It is a 42-page investigation into the wartime history and subsequent fate of the Mittelwerk and the Mittelbau-Dora, written by accomplished long-time After The Battle author Karel Margry. The article is presented in the typical After the Battle format, i.e., carefully researched text, illustrated by numerous black & white photos, many of them providing interesting comparisons between wartime scenes and the very same locations as they appeared at the time the article was written (1998). In addition, four colour photos relating to the topic can be found on the magazine's cover and in the centre-spread. The article also contains various maps to provide context with regard to geographic locations, underground production facilities, and concentration camp installations.

Moreover, the deeply captivating - and frequently intensely disturbing - photo content complements Margry's competent and comprehensive narrative enormously. The images provide views of the inside and outside of the Mittelwerk production facilities as well of the situation at Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. The historic photos were taken both during the war and right after the cessation of hostilities, and the comparison with the modern day situation is often intriguing. Although much has been published about wartime Germany's underground manufacturing facilities in recent decades, images depicting the inner workings of these facilities are still somewhat rare, and Margry's Nordhausen provides a number of such extraordinary glimpses. Next to various details of the tunnel system itself, there are many shots of A4 and Fi 103 components at various assembly stages.

Perhaps most importantly, however, the article does not neglect to delve deeply into the topic of slave labour and the associated concentration camp installations, in text and pictures. This is an immensely crucial subject matter all too often willingly (and thus negligently and spinelessly) "overlooked" in uncounted otherwise competent specialist publications on the late-war German aerospace industry and its output. The construction of the camp and manufacturing plant at Nordhausen as well as the subsequent manufacturing operations resulted in a death toll of around 20,000 human beings. The rational, clean layout drawings of the camps thus stand in perverse contrast to what can only be described as drastic images depicting the fate of those unlucky enough to have been confined there.

The creation of much, if not all, of the most modern and fascinating German aerospace equipment at that stage of the war would have been impossible without the implementation of slave labour of the most barbarous kind. This is an irrevocable fact of greatest significance, and it apparently renders rather uncomfortable a number of authors specialised in the field. It is to Karel Margry's credit that he did not elect to cheaply skirt around the issue and that he instead addressed it frankly and yet without hyperbole or tendentiousness.

All back issues of After the Battle magazine, including the above reviewed issue no. 101, remain available through the publisher's website. More information regarding Mittelwerk and Mittelbau-Dora may be found in Yves Le Maner & André Sellier's remarkable Bilder aus Dora, reviewed elsewhere in this blog.

AGO-Flugzeugwerke. Vom Gitterrumpf zur Me 262

René Scheer, dr. ziethen verlag, Oschersleben, Germany, 2014, ISBN 978-3-86289-078-1. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

Cover image © by dr. ziethen verlag, 2014.

Reviewing books examining the histories of German aircraft manufacturers is unwittingly turning into a loose series among the articles published within this blog. Following books on Sablatnig (Seifert 2002), Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH (Wenz, 2000), Zeppelin (Meighörner, 2006), DKW And Erla Aircraft (Seifert, 2011), and REIMAHG (Gleichmann, 2013, and various other authors), this review focuses on René Scheer's newly released and highly anticipated AGO-Flugzeugwerke. Vom Gitterrumpf zur Me 262 [AGO Aircraft Plant. From Tube Truss Fuselage To The Me 262]. To make it short, Scheer's book is fantastic. It is a prime example for a thoroughly researched and lavishly illustrated (including many rare black & white photographs and eight colour profiles) landmark publication.

AGO-Flugzeugwerke documents AGO's inception as a relatively small and obscure aircraft manufacturer in Oschersleben, its rise to a subcontractor producing aircraft for Heinkel, Arado, Henschel, Focke-Wulf, Gotha, and Messerschmitt, and its eventual association with REIHMAG. It is a highly intriguing account by any means, and it highlights not only the aviation-technical aspects typically associated with any German aircraft manufacturer of the period, but also the omnipresent repercussions arising from economic realities and political interference.

Among the most interesting parts of the book, however, is Scheer's detailed depiction of AGO's original aircraft designs (both produced and projected) as developed by Paul Klages and his team. The elegant lines of aircraft such as the Ao 192 or Ao 225 clearly illustrate Klages' unreservedly distinctive and aesthetic approach. As interesting and important as the subsequent license production of other companies' aircraft (e.g. Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190) was in AGO's history, it is a shame that AGO's own projects never received the attention and acknowledgment they would have rightfully deserved. Germany's inevitable path towards war essentially eliminated the possibility to realize any such ambitions AGO may have harboured.

Scheers' book subsequently sheds much light on AGO's wartime activities, including flight test activities, aircraft repair operations at the front, decentralisation efforts affecting manufacturing processes back in Germany, work conditions of AGO's workforce, employment of forced labour (a topic all too frequently conveniently excluded in such monographs), effects of the air war and Allied bombing, REIHMAG's appropriation of AGO's assets, and the establishment of the underground production of Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters at the near-mythical Walpersberg facilities. AGO-Flugzeugwerke finally concludes by describing the period of occupation after the war's end as well as the futile local efforts to preserve the industrial base against the realities of a collapsed Germany, resulting in the cessation of all activities in 1950.

René Scheer, a teacher by profession, has been gathering AGO-related information and material since the 1990s, resulting in a unique collection of knowledge, documents, photographs, and data. His dedication to meticulous research, paired with the obvious enthusiasm of his publisher, Harald Ziethen, have made AGO-Flugzeugwerke an utterly indispensable case study. In spite of the complexity of the story, the 312 pages of text are easy to read (the text is perhaps a tad small, due to a book format of 23 x 23 cm). Image reproduction is very good. The book is completed by footnotes, a list of sources, an overview of abbreviations, and a brief English summary.

AGO-Flugzeugwerke. Vom Gitterrumpf zur Me 262 simply cannot be recommended highly enough.

Flughafen Tempelhof - Chronik des Berliner Werkes der "Weser" Flugzeugbau GmbH, Bremen

[Full title: Flughafen Tempelhof - Chronik des Berliner Werkes der "Weser" Flugzeugbau GmbH, Bremen - Einrichtung eines Flugzeugwerkes - Umbau von Flugzeugen und Produktion der Kriegsflugzeuge Ju 87-Stuka und Focke-Wulf Fw 190, 1939-1945] F.-Herbert Wenz, Stedinger Verlag, Lemwerder, Germany, 2000, ISBN 3-927697-24-9. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

Cover image © by Stedinger Verlag, 2000.

Although destined to perpetually remain in the shadows of other, more widely recognized companies such as Messerschmitt, Junkers, or Focke-Wulf, Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH was one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in Germany during the Second World War. While Weser’s own aircraft designs remained obscure or unbuilt, the company was contracted to convert, repair, and mass-produce aircraft of other manufacturers, such as the Junkers Ju 86 and Ju 87, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Junkers Ju 388, or Focke Achgelis Fa 223. At its plant at Tempelhof airport in Berlin, for example, Weser eventually conducted two thirds of the entire Ju 87 production.

Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH’s Tempelhof facilities are the focus of F.-Herbert Wenz’ somewhat cumbersomely titled Flughafen Tempelhof - Chronik des Berliner Werkes der "Weser" Flugzeugbau GmbH, Bremen - Einrichtung eines Flugzeugwerkes - Umbau von Flugzeugen und Produktion der Kriegsflugzeuge Ju 87-Stuka und Focke-Wulf Fw 190, 1939-1945 [Tempelhof Airport - History Of The Berlin Plant Of The "Weser" Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation, Bremen - Establishment Of An Aircraft Manufacturing Plant - Aircraft Conversion And Production Of Ju 87 Stuka And Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Warplanes, 1939-1945]. The book is something of a companion volume to the same author’s indispensable Chronik des Lemwerder Flugzeugwerkes 1935-1963: Band 1 - "Weser" Flugzeugbau GmbH [History Of The Lemwerder Aircraft Manufacturing Plant 1935-1963: Volume 1 - "Weser" Flugzeugbau GmbH], released by the same publishing house in 1995.

Though only slightly more than half as extensive at 160 printed pages (versus the earlier publication's 256 pages), Flughafen Tempelhof is designed in a similar layout and style, and it serves to further complete the examination of Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH's various undertakings. It is actually rather unfortunate that Wenz' follow-up is a thinner book, as one might be drawn to imagine that the past existence of the massive manufacturing facilities at Tempelhof airport, including all related issues, would have warranted the inclusion of far more material and images (the book features 130 photos). Moreover, the book's design could be a bit more modern.

In spite of such desires, Wenz' Flughafen Tempelhof truly is a captivating compendium of information on the operations of a wartime German aircraft factory and the various special interests affecting it. Following brief descriptions of the establishment of Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH and the construction of the completely redesigned Tempelhof airport (see also Der Flughafen Tempelhof in Entwurfszeichnungen und Modellen), Wenz describes the actual repair, conversion, and production of aircraft at the airport. The switch to this new location was implemented because Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH's earlier facility at Lemwerder was utterly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work it was allocated. This is evidenced, for example, by two striking photos on pages 25 and 26 of the book, one of them showing an aerial view of the access road to Lemwerder. The road itself is barely visible due to the fact that it was used as an improvised parking area for numerous Junkers Ju 86 aircraft.

Flughafen Tempelhof contains countless interesting photos depicting the activities at the Tempelhof facility, from conversion work on Heinkel He 111s and Ju 86s to the series production of the Ju 87 and the repair of the Fw 190. Some of the photos show the damage caused by bombing attacks as well as the measures taken to limit such damage in the future. In addition to the narrative, floor plans and images depicting aircraft components and various manufacturing and assembly areas help the reader to gain a visual understanding of operations in a fairly typical German aircraft plant of the period. Unfortunately, the text is at times a bit generic. An example is the description of the intention to commence production of the Fa 223 helicopter; this is basically a brief summary on the aircraft and provides hardly any details regarding the intended production.

Wenz further portrays the individuals managing operations at the Tempelhof manufacturing facility and then, on nine pages, touches upon the omnipresent topic of forced labour. It is this latter point which has led certain circles to express criticism regarding the book. Wenz' account was blamed for being too cursory and too apologetic on behalf of the plant. The issue of forced labour at Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH is indeed of tremendous significance. To say that Wenz is trivializing this subject matter would be too strong, but it is certainly true that the brevity of the chapter in question means that many thoroughly drastic aspects of the topic are merely hinted at or even outright excluded. The utter arrogance and ignorance exhibited by the German leadership (from the highest to the lowest level) with regard to employing forced labour defies description, and this is exactly why attempts must be made to describe it.

Flughafen Tempelhof concludes with an account of the collapse of plant operations at the end of the war, and the occupation by American troops. Perhaps it is futile to expect a book with such a limited page count to provide a highly detailed study, regardless of whether this concerns aircraft manufacturing or forced labour issues. This is why it is somewhat frustrating that this book isn't a more extensive work and why the text actually included is at times slightly sketchy.

REIMAHG-Werk "Lachs"

Markus Gleichmann, Heinrich-Jung-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Zella-Mehlis/Meiningen, Germany, 2013, ISBN 978-3-943552-05-8. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German, English, Italian, French, Russian, and Dutch.

Cover image © by Heinrich-Jung-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2013.

In January 2010, this blog featured an entry discussing various publications examining the REIMAHG underground aircraft plant at the Walpersberg mountain in Thuringia, Germany (see REIMAHG Me 262 Underground Manufacturing Plant At Kahla, 1944/1945). One of the books covered, Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg by Markus Gleichmann and Karl-Heinz Bock, presented a particularly comprehensive assessment of the manufacturing site, both during its construction and in its current state.

Four years after Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg, Gleichmann has published a companion volume of sorts: REIMAHG-Werk "Lachs". This book was created together with the Geschichts- und Forschungsverein Walpersberg e.V. [History and Research Association Walpersberg], and it has the distinct feel of an exhibition catalogue, the exhibition in this case potentially being the Association's guided tours of the Walpersberg area.

While Gleichmann's original Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg was a book of 176 pages, containing 94 photos and 13 maps and drawings, his new book is more of a captioned photo album, comprising 201 illustrations on 118 pages. There are text pages, but they are kept to an absolute minimum. The same applies to the photo captions themselves. Such brevity is a result of the decision to print the text and captions in five languages (German, English, Russian, Italian, and Dutch), thus making the book accessible to a wide variety of interested parties and/or visitors to the site. For anyone with more than a cursory awareness of this topic, however, these brief captions are a bit of a disappointment. Given the nature of the subject matter, every single photo in this book could conceivably be accompanied by an exhaustive description.

The photos themselves (in black & white as well as in colour) are as absorbing as those in Gleichmann's earlier work. Once again, they depict the REIMAHG site during the war, in the course of the immediate aftermath, and today. This includes countless intriguing shots of the incomplete underground facilities inside the mountain (an area currently inaccessible to the ordinary visitor), as well as the surrounding buildings, the inclined aircraft elevator, and the mountaintop runway.

A significant section of REIMAHG-Werk "Lachs" is dedicated to the fact that forced labour was used in harshest conditions in both the construction of the REIMAHG facility and the commencement of actual aircraft assembly/manufacture. It is to Gleichmann's credit that he has chosen to accord so much space to this horrendous aspect of the REIMAHG story. Nonetheless, there likely remains an infinite amount of relevant information yet to be documented and published.

In an effort to assign proper credit, Gleichmann has included an authorship code for all photos reproduced in the book. Unfortunately, this code is printed in a small, rectangular box within the photos themselves (instead of as part of the captions), which, in the case of small photos, is somewhat annoying. There's a key linking each code to the photo source at the end of the book.

There are other nitpicks. In order to fit a photo into the assigned space on page 110, the person in charge of the layout simply stretched the photo horizontally, resulting in amateurishly distorted protagonists and equipment. Such a thing should not happen in a book of otherwise formidable quality. Some of the translations are a bit simplistic, although this is of no great consequence in view of the aforementioned brevity of the text. Lastly, it would have been nice to see a photo of a Ta 152 still in German hands and thus with authentic German markings instead of the haphazardly repainted post-war example in the US.

In spite of such trivial criticism, REIMAHG-Werk "Lachs" is a welcome and highly informative book. Moreover, its content is even more valuable if used as a supplement to Gleichmann's earlier Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg.

Bilder aus Dora - Zwangsarbeit im Raketentunnel 1943-1945

Yves Le Maner & André Sellier, Westkreuz-Verlag GmbH, Berlin/Bonn, Germany, 2001, ISBN 3-929-592-59-2. Illustrated, softcover, published in German.

Cover image © by Westkreuz-Verlag GmbH, 2001.

As this blog is titled "German Aviation 1919-1945", this is probably not quite a typical publication to be reviewed here. And yet this is a truly exceptional and important book, both on a human as well as on a topical level. Bilder aus Dora [Images From Dora] is examined on this website because it covers a significant subject area of the aerospace industrial complex of the Third Reich - the manufacture of the Aggregat 4 rocket (or, more popularly, the V2 rocket) during the final stages of the war. What's more, it does so using rare and truly astonishing color photographs shot by Walter Frenz in 1944; photographs which reveal a previously unseen level of detail regarding the then top secret manufacturing process of the German war machine.

Frenz was a Luftwaffe photo correspondent whose work became widely known decades after the war, not least because he was able to shoot many of his photos in color, and because he had access to the top echelon of Germany' leadership. Frenz' son, Hanns-Peter Frenz (who also contributes the introduction to Bilder aus Dora), discovered these historically infinitely significant images in 1998, in a suitcase which had once belonged to his father and had stood unopened in a room in the basement for over 50 years. Immediately before the end of the war, the SS had confiscated all of Frenz's photos depicting secret weapons manufacturing, but Frenz somehow managed to preserve a number of color slides in a nondescript envelope. These slides now yield what are the only authentic photos depicting the underground mass production of the Aggregat 4.

It is the dreadful human aspect, however, which renders Bilder aus Dora even more significantly different from the customary aircraft type monographs or technical-historical studies usually featured here. Not only do Frenz' photos depict countless scenes in which slave laborers work on various parts of the rocket, but as the book's subtitle Forced Labor In The Rocket Tunnel implies, it also goes to great lengths to relentlessly analyze this facet of what is at the same time one of Germany's greatest technological achievements and one of its most painful legacies.

In addition to the obvious color photos depicting the actual production of the rocket, there are numerous drawings of the conditions within the affiliated Dora slave labor camp run by the SS. These drawings were made by the inmates of the camp, either secretly during their imprisonment or immediately after the war, and they thus represent rare visual glimpses into the daily camp routine of intense exploitation and dying. Along with these profound illustrations, Bilder aus Dora features a detailed narrative on the history of the camp as well as on the conditions within. The contents of Bilder aus Dora are completed by maps and black & white photos (taken during and after the war) of the camp and manufacturing tunnels.

It is the inevitable and unholy connection between frequently stunning images depicting the production of an ultra modern, high-tech weapon and images depicting the ruthless subjugation and elimination of human beings to facilitate exactly such production, which makes this book insdispensable for anyone even remotely interested in German aerospace industrial processes of the Second World War.

In spite of what seems like a relatively low page count (88 pages, format 294 x 208mm), Bilder aus Dora is therefore a comprehensive study of what is a dramatic and important topic. The book was originally released as an exhibition catalog to accompany special exhibition at the Deutsches Museum in Munich in 2001. It was produced in affiliation with the French La Coupole museum, whose head, Yves Le Maner, is one of the two authors of the book. The other one, André Sellier, is a historian and himself a former deported slave laborer.

Various Publications: REIMAHG Me 262 Underground Manufacturing Plant At Kahla, 1944/1945

Deckname Lachs - Die Geschichte der unterirdischen Fertigung der Me 262 im Walpersberg bei Kahla 1944/45

Klaus W. Müller & Willy Schilling, Heinrich-Jung-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Zella-Mehlis/Meiningen, Germany, 1995, ISBN 3-930-588-30-7. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

One of the most extraordinary and in equal parts intriguing and drastic German armament industry projects of World War II was the conversion of the Walpersberg mountain in Thuringia, Germany, into an underground jet fighter manufacturing plant with a full mountaintop runway. The plant was to be operated by the REIMAHG works (Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring Werke). Although still vastly uncompleted by war's end, construction work inside and around the mountain was at an advanced state, and the plant became partially operational. Originally intended for the production of Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, Focke-Wulf Ta 152s, and Messerschmitt Me 262s, plans changed in early 1945, and the plant was subsequently intended to focus on manufacturing the jet-powered Me 262 and Horten Ho XVIII.

The runway on top of the Walpersberg mountain, originally 900 meters long but later extended to 1,200 meters, was completed in February 1945 and actually used for RATO-assisted take-offs of freshly assembled Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters. The aircraft reached the top of the mountain by means of an inclined and open elevator which ran along the mountainside for 200 meters, at an angle of 27 degrees, thus bridging a vertical height of approximately 85 meters.

Klaus W. Müller and Willy Schilling's Deckname Lachs was likely the first specialized study of this massive project to be published for the general Luftwaffe historian. A small hardback book of 88 pages, it is still a very detailed look at the entire history of REIMAHG's Walpersberg undertaking. Deckname Lachs investigates the early discussions about the possible protection of the German military aircraft production from Allied bombing, the actual construction of the tunnels and bunkers of the REIMAHG plant, the slave labor used during the construction work, the facilities of the plant, the plant's runway, and the arrival of the American military at the plant at the end of the war.

The book contains a number of back & white photos and drawings of the REIMAHG plant, the most interesting ones, in my opinion, being those of the runway and the inclined elevator.




REIMAHG - From Sandpit To Armament Factory (History of Hitler's Secret Underground Factory)

Claus Reuter, Publications of the German-Canadian Museum of Applied History, Brunswick, Germany/S. R. Research and Publishing, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 0-96961-7-X. Illustrated, softcover/ring binding, published in English.

Very little information is available about this publication. It has a definite underground feel about it, consisting of 134 small-format pages held together by plastic ring binding. The text is very comprehensive, however, including not only information on the REIMAHG plant project itself but also on the camps which held the labor force used to build the plant, the Me 262 and other aircraft intended to be produced at the plant, the occupation of the plant, and so on.

It is perhaps of significance to point out that the author at times takes a rather critical stance against certain aspects of the Allied bombing campaign. Also, the photo section at the end of this publication is a somewhat mixed blessing. Not only are the photos printed in an inferior quality and at a very small size, many of them are not directly related to the REIMAHG project at all (such as various images of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 prototypes or drawings and photos of technical details of the Me 262).

All in all, a publication which has left me unconvinced. It is rendered valuable primarily due to the fact that the text is in English.




Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg (Die Geschichte des unterirdischen Flugzeugwerkes "REIMAHG" bei Kahla/Thüringen)

Markus Gleichmann & Karl-Heinz Bock, Heinrich-Jung-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Zella-Mehlis/Meiningen, Germany, 2009, ISBN 978-3-930588-82-4. Illustrated, hardcover, published in German.

As I am writing this review, Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg is the newest and most exhaustive of the studies published on the REIMAHG underground aircraft plant. The book is enormously absorbing and complete, both in its text and photo content. The result of years of research by authors Markus Gleichmann and Karl-Heinz Bock, Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg presents a clearly structured and very detailed history of the plant. Beginning with an overview of the Allied bombing campaign against the German armament production and the subsequent German efforts to move much of such production underground, Gleichmann and Bock then chronicle the various phases of the massive construction project.

The examination of these phases is not limited to technical or logistical aspects. The authors include a detailed chapter on the forced labor workforce utilized to create the pant as well as the camps used to house this workforce and the German guards used to enforce the extreme work regimen. Owing to the chronic lack of manpower due to the war situation, these guard detachments included members of the Hitler Youth, many of whom frequently found themselves emotionally overwhelmed by the task. Needless to say, the conditions under which the workforce had to function were harrowing.

Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg then looks at the planned aircraft assembly operation as well as at the construction of the tunnels and auxiliary bunkers and buildings of the plant. The book concludes with the discovery of the REIMAHG plant by the Allies, the subsequent Soviet disassembly of the facilities, and the fate of the site in the decades after the war. Due to the inclusion of numerous eyewitness accounts (not least in the section on forced labor and working conditions), the text often conveys far more immediacy than usually found in such studies.

A large amount of photos and drawings further serves to illustrate the various aspects of the REIMAHG project. Pages 110, 117, and 125, for example, provide views of the remarkable mountaintop runway. Unless hampered by the inferior quality of the original source photos, the photo reproduction quality is generally good. The final part of the book is dedicated to series of stunning color photos of the remnants of REIMAHG plant as they appear today. This does not just include images of the ruins of bunkers, buildings, and the inclined elevator, but it also shows the area of the runway (completely overgrown by forest), the uncompleted train lines once intended for the transport of aircraft components, and - most strikingly - various tunnels and assembly halls inside of the mountain.

A very complete, utterly intriguing, and highly recommended book.




Flugplätze der Luftwaffe 1934-1945 - und was davon übrig blieb (Band 3: Thüringen)

Jürgen Zapf, VDM Heinz Nickel, Zweibrücken, Germany, 2003, ISBN 3-925480-80-3. Illustrated, softcover, published in German.

While not strictly a publication solely dedicated to the REIMAHG project, part 3 of Jürgen Zapf's profusely researched and illustrated Flugplätze der Luftwaffe 1934-1945 - und was davon übrig blieb [Airfields Of The Luftwaffe 1934-1945 - And What Remains Of Them Today] series contains a major section (72 pages) on the REIMAHG plant and its mountaintop runway. While the text is to Zapf's usual professional and very detailed standard, it's really the photographic content which makes this publication indispensable for anyone interested in this topic (although the printing quality of the photos could perhaps be a tad better).

Numerous large color and back & white photos show the interior and exterior of the Walpersberg mountain, both as it appeared during the war and as it looks today. As can be seen, the tunnels of the plant still contain lorries (evidence that construction was never completed), electrical aircraft systems parts, and corroded cockpit instruments. The outside is dotted with crumbled bunkers, foundations, and buildings. Of particular interest are the photos which show the area of where the inclined elevator once stood as well as the overgrown runway.