Bendlerblock

The Bendlerblock is a historic complex of buildings in Berlin's Tiergarten district that now serves as the second official seat of the Federal Ministry of Defense. The complex stretches along Stauffenbergstraße and Reichpietschufer and houses significant memorials alongside the ministry's offices. The oldest part of the complex was originally built between 1911 and 1914 as the headquarters of the Imperial Navy's highest command. The architecture firm Reinhardt & Süßenguth designed the five-story building in a Neoclassical and Neo-Baroque style. Alongside the main building on the Landwehr Canal, which was reserved for the State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office, the east wings housed the Admiralty Staff as well as the Naval Cabinet, which reported directly to Kaiser Wilhelm II.

After World War I, and under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the downsized armed forces of the Weimar Republic, the Reichswehr and Reichsmarine, shared the premises. Political events such as the Kapp Putsch also took place here, during which the head of the Troop Office refused to put down the uprising. During the Nazi era, additional buildings were erected on the neighboring lots, which gave the complex its popular name. The building now housed the General Army Office, the Naval Command, and the Foreign Office/Counterintelligence department under Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. These institutions formed the backdrop for the emergence of militant resistance groups against the Nazi regime.

The historical significance of the site is inseparably linked to the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944. In the offices of the east wing, officers such as General Olbricht and Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg planned the coup. When the attempt at the Wolf's Lair failed, the resistance group in the Bendlerblock tried to activate the coup plan "Valkyrie." But that very night, in the early hours of July 21, the resistance's leading figures, including Stauffenberg, Olbricht, and Mertz von Quirnheim, were shot in the building's courtyard. Colonel General Ludwig Beck had previously been forced to take his own life. These events make the Bendlerblock a central site of German resistance to National Socialism.

Today, visitors can learn about this history through the permanent exhibition of the German Resistance Memorial Center, which is housed in the former planning rooms and offices. In the courtyard stands the memorial to the executed officers, unveiled in 1953 by Governing Mayor Ernst Reuter. The bronze figure by sculptor Richard Scheibe depicts a young man with bound hands and symbolizes the fate of the resistance fighters. A memorial plaque in the Court of Honor lists the names of the officers shot on July 20, 1944. Since 1999, a public swearing-in ceremony has been held here every year on July 20, commemorating the resistance and underscoring the Bundeswehr's tradition of defending the principles of the rule of law.

In addition to the memorial to the resistance, the grounds also house the Bundeswehr Memorial, honoring soldiers killed in service. This monument, designed by architect Andreas Meck, was dedicated in 2009 and serves as the central place of remembrance for those who died in the line of duty. The Bendlerblock is also the setting for most of the Bundeswehr's Grand Tattoos (Großer Zapfenstreich), a traditional military ceremony to bid farewell to high-ranking figures. The combination of active ministerial use and a historic memorial gives the site a special atmosphere in which the past of military resistance and the present-day tasks of defense come together.