In 1938, given the difficulties of the German Reich to successfully complete the construction of large military buildings, the Todt Organization was founded. The organization takes its name from Fritz Todt, its director from 1938 until his death in 1942.
This organization was in charge of starting the great construction works of the Atlantic wall, the western wall or the wolf's den. To build these large structures, the slave labor of tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners provided by Heinrich Himler's SS was used.
Fritz Todt served as director of the organization and was appointed Minister of Armaments in 1940 as a reward for his earlier work in resource management. After the failure of the initial German offensive against the Soviet Union in 1941, Todt repeatedly confronted Hitler claiming that the war was lost. He died in a plane crash in 1942 whose causes are unknown to this day.
How to get to the Todt Organization headquarters
The headquarters of the Todt organization still stands in the center of Berlin, at the central Friedrichstr. no. 34b. You can get there with the subway line U6, arriving at the Kochstrasse / Check Point Charlie stop.
What can you see
The building is today an employment office for the Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain district, however it retains its original exterior appearance. The great imperial eagle that crowns the building stands out. The place is accessible during office hours, but its interior has been modernized for current administrative work and lacks historical interest.
