Für das Erinnern
The Bunker after the War
American troops reached the Inn River on May 2, 1945 and occupied the bunker and appropriate construction sites. Interestingly enough, the Americans allowed the involved firms to reclaim their equipment – possibly as means of reparations. The Reichsbahn for instance was allowed to remove the onsite tracks and it was attempted to turn the land back into the agricultural state it had been before the bunker construction began. In the summer of 1947, the Americans began placing explosives inside the bunker and parts of the nearby air raid shelter for demolishing purposes. After numerous tries, the Americans finally succeeded using 120 tons of TNT. It was found that the bunkers arches were collapsed.
Private firms around Muehldorf and the surrounding area made good use of the available debris, especially steel. The firm Polensky & Zoellner remained in business until its demise in 1992. An admission of guilt and self-critique on their involvement in aiding the war effort using slave labor never materialized. Instead, one was generally satisfied with the firm’s achievements. During the firm’s 75th anniversary in 1955, which was celebrated in the Munich Hofbrae uhaus, actor Michl Ehbauer and a remorseful colleague from Polensky & Zoellner brought into question the company’s involvement through an emotive poem.
Starting in the 1950s, local farmers from Ampfing and Mettenheim began suing the government for compensation. Their claim was that their taken land was permanently unsuitable for farming purposes.
It was also during this time that the bunker complex was used by the media. A few years later, the bunker proved an ideal photo shooting ground for the TV series "Am gruenen Strand der Spree".
From 1982 to 1983, a rumor began to circulate that there were still Wehrmacht supplies of a chemical nature being stored in the bunker. Only after maintaining silence for many years did the government, in 1987, finally remove these chemicals to prevent ecological and environmental damages.
Starting in 1986, the museum of Muehldorf, the Lodronhaus, opened up a permanent exhibition of the town during the Nazi period entitled “…bis alles in Scherben fiel”. A hefty section of the exhibit is dedicated to the aircraft bunker and has become one of the major attractions of the museum.
In 1987, Rainer Ritzel and Josef Wagner, both Muehldorfers, filmed the documentary "…mit 22 wollte man noch nicht sterben" on the premises of the bunker complex. This documentary dealt with the general history of the bunker and the human suffering involved in constructing it.
Over the years, the bunker has developed into a place of remembrance. Survivors have traveled from afar (often with their families), schools have taken field trips to the bunker and people with an interest in the past have come to see the remains of the bunker. Under pressure from various groups (among them the Muehldorfer Heimatbund), the bunker was eventually added to a Bavarian list of historic memorials. It was therefore a shock when in 1991 the Bundesfinanzministerium proposed a plan of having the bunker torn down. Despite massive protests, demolishing work started in 1995-1996 with the tearing down of the nearby air raid shelter ruins. Due to this incident, the future existence of this historical site is questionable.
Hope for the preservation of the bunker can perhaps be found in the 1999 founded group "Fuer das Erinnern", which aims to preserve the history of the bunker. The group is run by the Katholisches Kreisbildungswerk Muehldorf e.V. and has led to the bunker earning support from institutions and some famous personalities.