The German Navy or Kriegsmarine it became the second largest in the world in 1918. Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to compete in naval power with his cousin, King George V of England. Following his accession to the throne in the late 19th century, the German Kaiser pushed for accelerated construction of a modern navy to control the seas.
This imperial navy was highly prized by the emperor, so his ships were not put in danger too many times. In fact the only major naval battle was in the Gulf of Jutland, where the German navy inflicted heavy casualties on the British navy, but without achieving a decisive result.
After the first world war this impressive navy was dismantled. The Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany from possessing a powerful navy. When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Kriegsmarine It was a force of little military importance. To restore its power, the Nazi party launched Plan Z to build large battleships. The plan was canceled due to the beginning of the war and due to the poor results obtained by the first ships produced, such as the Graf Spee, the Bismark or the Tirpitz.
German naval efforts were concentrated from that moment on the construction of torpedo boats and the famous U-boats, submarines that harassed British supply convoys.
The Navy Command occupied the Shell building. It is striking that such an important institution for the Nazi regime was located in a Bauhaus school building, which had been considered degenerate by National Socialist ideology. The building is not currently accessible for security reasons.
How to get to the Kriegsmarine headquarters
The command of the Navy of Nazi Germany today belongs to the German Ministry of Defense. To get there we must take bus line 200 to the Tiergartenstr. stop. To find out the best combination to get there, you can consult the following LINK.