Wolf ' s Lair Wolf ' s Lair ( ) was Adolf Hitler ' s first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II . The complex , which would become one of several " Führerhauptquartiere " ( Führer Headquarters ) located in various parts of occupied Europe , was built for the start of Operation " Barbarossa " - the invasion of the Soviet Union - in 1941 . It was constructed by Organisation Todt . The top secret , high security site was in the Masuria n woods about from the small East Prussia n town of Rastenburg ( now Kętrzyn in Poland ) . It was guarded by personnel from the SS " Reichssicherheitsdienst " and troops from the " Wehrmacht " ' s armoured Führer Begleit Brigade . Although three security zones surrounded the central complex where the Führer bunker was located , an attempt to kill Hitler was made at Wolf ' s Lair on 20 July 1944 . Hitler first arrived at the headquarters on 23 June 1941 . In total , he spent more than 800 days at the " Wolfsschanze " during a 3½ - year period until his final departure on 20 November 1944 . In the summer of 1944 , work began to enlarge and reinforce many of the Wolf ' s Lair original buildings , however the work was never completed because of the rapid advance of the Red Army during the Baltic Offensive in autumn 1944 . On 25 January 1945 , the complex was blown up and abandoned 48 hours before the arrival of Soviet forces . Name . " Wolfsschanze " is derived from " Wolf " , a self - adopted nickname of Hitler . He began using the nickname in the early 1930s and it was often how he was addressed by those in his intimate circle . " Wolf " was used in several titles of Hitler ' s headquarters throughout occupied Europe , such as " Wolfsschlucht " I and II in Belgium and " Werwolf " in Ukraine . Although the standard name in English for " Wolfsschanze " is " Wolf ' s Lair " , the German name does not actually mean this . " Schanze " is a term from military engineering and is best translated as " fortification " or " sconce " . Layout . The decision to build the Wolf ' s Lair was made in the autumn of 1940 . Built in the middle of a forest , it was located far from major roads and urban areas . The complex , which was completed by June 21 , 1941 , consisted of three concentric security zones . About two thousand people lived and worked at the Wolf ' s Lair at its peak , among them twenty women . The installations were served by a nearby airfield and train lines . Buildings within the complex were camouflaged with bushes , grass and artificial trees planted on the flat roofs ; netting was also erected between buildings and the surrounding forest so from the air , the installation looked like unbroken dense woodland . A facility for Army headquarters was also located near the Wolf ' s lair complex . Although the RSD had overall responsibility for Hitler ' s personal security , external protection of the complex was provided by the FBB , which had become a regiment by July 1944 . The FBB was equipped with tanks , anti - aircraft guns and other heavy weapons . Any approaching aircraft could be detected up to from the Wolf ' s Lair . Additional troops were also stationed about away . Reinforcements . Traudl Junge , one of Hitler ' s secretaries , recalled that in late 1943 or early 1944 , Hitler spoke repeatedly of the possibility of a devastating bomber attack on the " Wolfsschanze " by the Western Allies . She quoted Hitler as saying , " They know " exactly " where we are , and sometime they ’ re going to destroy everything here with carefully aimed bombs . I expect them to attack any day . " When Hitler ’ s entourage returned to the " Wolfsschanze " from an extended summer stay at the Berghof in July 1944 , the previous small bunkers had been replaced by the Organisation Todt with " heavy , colossal structures " of reinforced concrete as defense against the feared air attack . According to Armaments Minister Albert Speer , " some 36 , 000 , 000 marks were spent for bunkers in Rastenburg [ Wolf ' s Lair ] . " Hitler ’ s bunker had become the largest , " a positive fortress " containing " a maze of passages , rooms and halls . " Junge said in the period between the July 20 assassination attempt and Hitler ' s final departure from the " Wolfsschanze " in November 1944 : " we had air - raid warnings every day [ . . . ] but there was never more than a single aircraft circling over the forest , and no bombs were dropped . All the same , Hitler took the danger very seriously , and thought all these reconnaissance flights were in preparation for the big raid he was expecting . " No air attack ever came . Whether the Western Allies knew of the " Wolfsschanze " ' s location and importance has never been revealed . Hitler ' s daily routine . When Hitler was in residence , he would begin the day by taking a walk alone with his dog around 9 or 10 am , and at 10 : 30 am would look at the mail which had been delivered by air or courier train . A noon situation briefing , which frequently ran as long as two hours , would be convened in Keitel ' s and Jodl ' s bunker . This was followed by lunch at 2 pm in the dining hall . Hitler would invariably sit in the same seat between Jodl and Otto Dietrich , while opposite him sat Keitel , Martin Bormann and General Karl Bodenschatz , Goering ' s adjutant . After lunch , Hitler would deal with non - military matters for the remainder of the afternoon . Coffee was served around 5 pm , followed by a second military briefing by Jodl at 6 pm . Dinner , which could also last as long as two hours , began at 7 : 30 pm , after which films were shown in the cinema . Hitler would then retire to his private quarters where he would give monologues to his entourage , including the two female secretaries who had accompanied him to the Wolf ' s Lair . Occasionally Hitler and his entourage listened to gramophone record s of Beethoven symphonies , selections from Wagner or other operas , or German lieder . Assassination attempt . In July 1944 , an attempt was made to kill Hitler at the Wolf ' s Lair . The assassination , which became known as the 20 July plot , was organized by a group of acting and retired " Heer " Army officers and some civilians who wanted to remove Hitler in order to establish a new governance in Germany . After several failed attempts to kill Hitler , the Wolf ' s Lair - despite its security - was chosen as a viable location . Staff officer Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg would carry a briefcase bomb into a daily conference meeting and place it just a few feet away from Hitler . However due to the reconstruction of the Führer Bunker in the summer of 1944 , the location was changed to a building known as the Lager barrack on the day of the strategy meeting . This alternate venue along with several other factors , such as Hitler unexpectedly calling the meeting earlier than anticipated , meant Stauffenberg ' s attempt would prove unsuccessful . At 12 : 43 pm , when the bomb exploded , the interior of the building was devastated but Hitler was only slightly injured . Four other people present died from their wounds a few days later . Before the bomb detonated , Stauffenberg and his adjutant , Lieutenant Werner von Haeften had already begun to leave the " Wolfsschanze " in order to return to Berlin . Their escape involved passing through various security zones that controlled all access around the site . After a short delay at the RSD guard post just outside Sperrkreis 1 , they were allowed to leave by vehicle . The two officers were then driven down the southern exit road towards the near Rastenburg ( at ) . However by the time they reached the guard house at the perimeter of Sperrkreis 2 , the alarm had been sounded . According to the official RHSA report , " at first the guard refused passage until Stauffenberg persuaded him to contact the adjutant to the compound commander who then finally authorized clearance " . It was between here and the final checkpoint of Sperrkreis 3 that Haeften tossed another briefcase from the car containing an unused second bomb . On reaching the outer limit of the " Wolfsschanze " security zones , the two men were allowed to catch their plane back to army general headquarters in Berlin . The attempted assassination of Hitler at the Wolf Lair was part of " Operation Valkyrie " . A covert plan to take control and suppress any revolt in the German Reich following Hitler ' s death . However once news arrived from the Wolf ' s Lair that the Führer was still alive , the plan failed as troops loyal to the Nazi regime quickly re - established control of key government buildings . Von Stauffenberg , his adjutant Werner von Haeften and several co - conspirators were arrested and shot the same evening . On 20 August 1944 , Hitler personally presented survivors of the bomb blast in the Wolf ' s Lair with a gold " 20 July 1944 Wound Badge " . Next - of - kin of those killed in the bomb blast were also given this award . Demise . In October 1944 the Red Army reached the borders of East Prussia during the Baltic Offensive . Hitler departed from the Wolf ' s Lair for the final time on 20 November when the Soviet advance reached Angerburg ( now Węgorzewo ) , only away . Two days later the order was given to destroy the complex . However the actual demolition did not take place until the night of 24 – 25 January 1945 , ten days after the start of the Red Army ' s Vistula – Oder Offensive . Despite the use of tons of explosives - one bunker required an estimated of TNT - most of the complex buildings were only partially destroyed due their immense size and reinforced structures . The Red Army captured the abandoned remains of the " Wolfsschanze " on 27 January without firing a shot : the same day Auschwitz was liberated . It took until 1955 to clear over 54 , 000 land mines which surrounded the installation .