Part of Hitler’s vision was to redevelop Berlin as a new World capital, a project which became known as Germania. Albert Speer was appointed as the architect. A key feature was to have been a grand avenue leading from a gigantic People’s Hall in the north to a similarly immense Triumphal Arch in the south. Where this avenue crossed the Tiergarten it was planned to construct underpasses to allow road traffic to cross unimpeded.
Very limited construction work took place before war demands (in particular the eastern front) took priority.
Three isolated tunnels are still preserved beneath the Tiergarten, opposite the Soviet War Memorial. These include two road tunnels, around 100 metres long and a section of U-Bahn tunnel, intended for a new line that was never constructed. The tunnes are upo to 16 metres deep. One of the road tunnels was used as an electronics factory during the latter years ofthe war. Construction measurements and a small amount of grafitti can still be seen.
These fascinating reminders of a project that has little or no surface remains stand as a chilling reminder to what might have been.