Historians unearth the lost secrets of Hitler’s Wolf Lair fruit and veg plot

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Nearly seventy-five years after Red Army units first tentatively entered its devastated remains, Hitler’s notorious Wolf’s Lair HQ is in the news again after a team of local historians unearthed the remains of a garden and greenhouse complex once used to grow vegetables destined for the Fuhrer’s dining table.

Made on the grounds of Mazurolandia, a small theme park featuring miniature models of Mazurian landmarks as well as a rich haul of WWII military hardware, the discovery has yielded a wealth of ceramics, porcelain and glassware dating from the war. In addition, the dig has uncovered the original foundations of the gardener’s house, two greenhouses and an underground boiler room that supplied water and warm air to enable the year-round cultivation of fresh garden produce.

A creature of habit, Hitler’s routine involved a late breakfast of two apples, biscuits and tea, and later meals that included vegetarian broths, carrot and potato stews and fried eggs with mash.

“His meals were the most delicious fresh things,” recalled one of Hitler’s food testers, Margot Wölk, “from asparagus to peppers and peas, served with rice and salads.” Forcibly employed for over two years at the Wolf’s Lair, the food that Wölk ate to check for poison was sourced direct from these gardens.