waters and now the russians were turning the tide the red army was on the march and by october NUMBER_TOKEN they reached the borders of east prussia they soon came across the wolf's lair but hitler had abandoned it heading toward his final bunker in the last days of the war but the russians wanted to make an example of this complex the order was given to bring it down and it would be no easy task the fortified bunkers were not meant to be destroyed from the outside but that didn't deter the russians they brought in a whopping NUMBER_TOKEN thousand pounds of tnt and detonated it in january NUMBER_TOKEN the whole area shook the smoke cleared and much of the building was still standing hitler had led his country to ruin but taking down his favorite bunker was proving to be less possible than toppling his regime and that wasn't the only reason it was difficult to take down the red army soon found that clearing the many landmines surrounding the installation would be challenging in total NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN land mines would be removed from the area surrounding the complex a testament to just how fortified it was and how paranoid hitler was that anyone would penetrate it and even today hitler's massive complex still stands the area of the wolfe slayer was initially taken over by the post-war government of poland and fell into disrepair but when the communist government fell in the NUMBER_TOKENs the new government saw potential for something else a tourist site the ruins draw almost NUMBER_TOKEN NUMBER_TOKEN visitors a year and is surrounded by hotels and restaurants there have even been proposals to rebuild it to make it safer and more attractive to tourists but that's raised some questions about what the appropriate way to handle the legacy of a monster is should the site be raised to avoid it becoming a gathering site for hitler's remaining fans today the wolf's lair still stands as a testament to the massive war machine hitler built and how ultimately it was still doomed just like his regime thanks again to dream for sponsoring today's video you've heard me talk about the great courses plus before and the folks behind the great courses have created something even bigger and better than before that's going to give you even more reasons to love learning at one dream you can find the answer to virtually anything you've ever wondered about they have a carefully curated collection of tutorials how to's documentaries and much more that are all presented by the most engaging experts i've been watching the series mind-blowing science from scientific american and i can tell you that the name perfectly describes what happens to me as i watch each video it covers everything from whether we're the only intelligent life in the galaxy to why neanderthals started painting on cave walls it's seriously mind-blowing so if you've ever wondered about anything then i know one dream will be your new favorite place and they're giving infographics show viewers a great offer of a free trial show your support for my show by subscribing to wonderium now seriously your brain is going to love this place for another of hitler's most fortified bases check out why hitler built a mysterious mega fortress or watch this video instead
START_SPONSOR_TOKEN thanks again to dream for sponsoring today's video you've heard me talk about the great courses plus before and the folks behind the great courses have created something even bigger and better than before that's going to give you even more reasons to love learning at one dream you can find the answer to virtually anything you've ever wondered about they have a carefully curated collection of tutorials how to's documentaries and much more that are all presented by the most engaging experts i've been watching the series mind-blowing science from scientific american and i can tell you that the name perfectly describes what happens to me as i watch each video it covers everything from whether we're the only intelligent life in the galaxy to why neanderthals started painting on cave walls it's seriously mind-blowing so if you've ever wondered about anything then i know one dream will be your new favorite place and they're giving infographics show viewers a great offer of a free trial show your support for my show by subscribing to wonderium now seriously your brain is going to love this place END_SPONSOR_TOKEN