THE WANDLITZ 20 VILLA PROJECT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A048000130001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 2, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 8, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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This material contains information affecting the Nataonat t'efense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
COUNTRY East Germany
SUBJECT The Wandlitz 20 Villa Project
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
Introduction
1. Sonder'baustab 10 (Special construction staff lo). In April 1958 the office
of the Presidium of the East German Council of Ministers established a special
construction staff with offices in East Berlin which was assigned the deaianatica
Sonderbeustab 10. The exclusive purpose for the creation of Sonderbsut 10 was
to do the preliminary planning (Projekt er) and to supervise the construction
of all buildings connected with the Wattsdlitz 20 Villa project. The Office of the
Presidium of the Council of Ministers also issued the orders to build the Wandlitz
20 Villa Project. Details of each of the 20 Villas, designed to specification for
the occupant, were minutely plarmtedo
2. Completion Date and Building Process. The entire Project was scheduled to
be completed by 31 May 1959; this deadline has been unofficially extended until
August 1959. The Recreation Center (Kulturhaus) and the Heating Plant (&_L#Aus)
are not scheduled to be completed until November,,-beoember 1959. As of early March
1959 construction for the entire Project is estimated to have been aproxier~ately
75 completed. All of the multiple family dwellings are ready for occupancy. The
exterior raw brick construction (Rohbau) of the one-family dwellings (villas) and
of the support buildings ( irtschaftshof) is completed. The remainder of the
buildings is still in various stages of completion, none more than 5% finished.
3. Construction Firms t to ed on the Project. VEB Hochbau, Berlin-Friedrichshain,
is in charge of brick-work construction for all buildings, and for the procurement
of all necessary construction materials. This firm' approximately 150 enVloyees
t_or%ing on the Project. Entwurfabuero 110, Berlin?Karlshorat, Weselerstr. 12, is
the construction office to which all plans of Soq!Wr tab 10 had to be submitted
for final approval before blueprints could be wide. is is believed to be a
construction firm of the East German Ministry for State Security (Nfs). It Is
headed by a Capt. Peukert (fnu). Walter (fnu), an MfS esaciLoyee, served as liaison
between So derbaustab 10 and the unidentified representative of the evenUal occu-
pants of the villas. Walter presented requests for specific details desired
personally by the prospective occupants and all sketches were presented to him for
approval.
REPORT
DATE DISTR. ?APR 1959
NO. PAGES 9 !>
REFERENCES 4
ARMY ^.~.. ~I IVAVY
STATE , I ,' I
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by -X": Fiel
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4.tbes Iad1~-idwls connected with the Project. Kiette..
believed to be an employee of the Ministry of the Interior, was
responsible for the procurement of such building materials as came
under the special government procurement number assigned to the
Wandlitz Project. Resehke (fnu), who later became chief of the
Project (Objektleiter), was responsible for carrying out the con-
struction to the satisfaction of the Office of the Presidium of the
Council of Ministers under whose auspices the' Project is being; con-
structed. Theurich (fIVU) a private engineer, was responsible for the
installation of the heating systems into all buildings except the
central project heating plant
5,. Peroonnel of Sonderbaustab 10. The office staff of Sonderbaustab
10 ?._ located in Berlin NO 55 Greifswalderstrasse 33A, consisted of
,approximately 25 employees broken down as follows
Chiefs Heinz Olaeake, architect
Deputy: Egon Neye, architect
Ten architects of whom the following are kn,;!.ns
Walter Schmidt, Chief architect
Werner Rose
Kdnrad Beumer or Baeumer
Frau Gertrud Heinze
Horst Hirschmueller
Rolle, (fnu)
Te;.lbach, (fnu)
Helmut Koeppe
Frau Blume, (fnu)
Two Bost Planners
One Statistician
Two Purchasing Agents
One Secretary
Four Typists
In addition, three Sonderbaustab 10 employees were located on tine
Wandlitz construction site itself. All three were construction directors.
6. Inspection V; sit of Minister President Otto Grotewohl. In late
February 1959, Minister President Otto Grotewohl wade an inspection
tour of the entire project. He exhibited particular personal interest
in the details of Villa Number One.
1. Project _.Purpoeea The entire building complex of the Wandlitz
site is intended solely to support the residents of the twenty villas.
About 150 support personnel ?- such as gardeners, drivers and shopping
center employees -- will occupy their families the 68 apartments
of the nine apartment build
B. Description of Wanditz 20 Villa Pro lect Area
1. General. The Wandlitz 20 Villa Project (see attachment 1) is an
area of about four square kilometers in size. The Project fronts on the
Bernau-Wandlitz road from about (UU) 9810 to (UU) 9860. Rear of the
Project runs from (UU) 975441 to (uu) 9Tt431. (Map coordinates accord-
ing GSOS 1x25000 Map Sheet Germany 32)) The site is located partly in
an old forest and partly in a new stand of trees. The area itself is
flat except for minor elevations of between one and two eaters. There
is an approximately five meter wide access road connecting the site
with the Bernau-Wandlitz road. (Surveying of the area was done by the
surveying office of the Bezir k Frankfurt-Oder).
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dW st . i 'Tide follc dng buildings are under COD &U1130-
t, the Woodilts 20 Villa ftVJ%ct, Situ
. minty two-s'taey isr10i27 villas taining
tan to twelve . Villa is 1M1V ' '1y led to Suit
the p rtieular ciTaluootaasess and desires of the eventual oocupentsl
shavoks , ' ( MM**t) far use of o to of villas
Hscr cation Building (N4tW4* a) for use of occupants Of villas
d. Adoidsistrartian BuIldisig (VT r*uaol_ ta___ao eb~ata s) I
e. Nine t buildloge 1s er with a total or 68 apartments
to house pal 8erwieiog the twenty villas and their occupants
DWrasks for guard
(Bntekuri )
g. Oars s for trucks (I B Qsa ) adjoining banvacksl
iaos (I~tlDaeudte) for use by residents of apartments
h. S x pi ag Bui24
buildICA sl
1. Pasttaager our garage (M4 Oar. ) ;
J. Automotive Repair ( 7erkatattmb ) s
k. }~es~ratal- Pow Pint ( tra.s,&remut) s
1. Central Heating Plant (_Hetj I
m. Water Pump Some and Sewage Disposal Unit (Pum-n-l-aw and Klaerenlame) s
no t feu ron Warters with Vaeshing Phcilities (Waach-teed Aufeathalts-
mbseude ) .
3. A concrete fame* reinforced with steel, two meters is height will surround
c~oou etA, the Recreation Canterot and the Administration Building 25X1
Mr early h 1959, ecestructiaon of this wall hod not yet begs 25X1
although plasma for it me soeplete and excavation was believed underway.
4. Roadas A "Ohm-1 tie rns" U be eua faced caeeoti4g all of the buildings
in the site. 25X1
5. Set forth below is a mane detailed description of .,the various build'
listed in paragraph 2 abodes
a. Vil.les: 25X1
1) * construction of t h e one family houses folluad to a great
degree a standard blueprint. Thus, all the houses two made
10.115 maters wide. The length of the buildin , however& varies
according to row plan between 1T meters and 24 maters.
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All houses have cellars, a ground floor, a second floor,
and an unfinished attic. The steps from the cellar to
the ground floor are artificial stone, from the ground
to the second floor natural field stone. The attic can
be reached by a folding ladder which in most cases is
attached to the ceiling of the second floor. All ceilings
are 24 Centimeters thick. The roofs of all the one-family
houses are supported by double beams and have 30 degree
inclines and have a 60 centimeter overhang at the rain
glitters.
3) In general, the cellars include the followin;; rooms:
beating room, coal bin, laundry room, ironing room,
drying room, food @.torage rooms, a toilet for the gardner,
and storage rooms. The cellar can be reached from th~-
outside by steps located near the heating roomm. It is
not planned to construct an individual beating unit in
the beating rooms at this time, but only in the event
the central project heating installation fails to operate.
In addition, the o:,1e are so constructed and located
that even if the beating unit later built in the villas
should fail to operate, the most important rooms can be
heated through portable stoves. All cellar rooms will be
plastered. The floors will be tiled, cemented or covered
with linoleum. The exterior walls of the cellar are 49
Centimeters thick and are faced with natural stone. The
cellar rooms are 2.68 meters high except the coal and
heating rooms whose height will be 2.85 meters. All cellar
windows have wrought iron grillwork find the light shafts
are covered with rust proof grills.
4) On the ground floor is the entra< - hall with vestibule,
wardrobe, toilet, dining room, living room, study or
library, winter garden, kitchen with serving area, broom
closet, and pantry. The main entrance is on the north or
the west side. Tie side entrance lead,' in most cases to
the broom closet. The relative position of the livin,,,
dining rooms, and kitchen is similar in all houses. The
entrance balls. however, are varied. The winter garden
it different in each house. There are winter gardens
which are attached to the front of the house (houses No.
7 and 5 - and 4) and there are winter
gardens that lie wi:'ti`.n the house proper (houses No. 2
and 8
5) All winter gardens attached to fronts ci'nouses have single
windows, with blinds, opening to the outside. All other
windows are double windows with rolling shutters and
electric alarm systems. The alarm release is attached to
the house proper. The toilet window and mall window on
the north aide have grillwork. Tue heig,.t of the ceiling;
is 3.50 meters.
6) The second floor rooms vary in -- J-! -i- with up to three
children's rooms in some houses. Each house has the
following rooms on the second floor in addition to the
children's roomas hallway, main bedroom with dressing
room, both and toilet, one or two studies, guestroom,
maids room with bath and toilet, and in some cases,
exercise rooms. Each house has an open balcony on the
second floor. The windows on the south and west sides have
light metal sun blinds. The other sides have no aun protection.
Haight of Ceilings 3.25 meters. The unfinished attics are
co d with black brick (s?alzpfannen).
7) In the around floor study of each house is a safe. In those
balsas where titers is no study on the ground floor there is
a safe In the las st of thelsecond floor studies. Dimensions
wi ~ moappmalmatel
deep. F'urthermoometers rre ti~ae is a pail f
in the shitsr bedroom of each house (40 x 40x30 centl t
and built into the outer wall).
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25X1
SECRET
k. The r enc PmeEh2HE. with -transformer lies outside of
the administration section quadrangle. It has diesel
motors which turn on automatidally upon a malfunction of
the normal electric supply and. can service the entire
project. The building; is about 60 meters long:
1. Central Ming Plants The project is serviced through a
hot water steam system fired by oil. The building; is
cited of steel and concrete and covered with brick
masonry. The diameter of the beating ' '_ is about
60 centimeters and they lie approximately 60 centimeters
underground., The heating tunnels have been designed to
make it impossible for anyone to walk or crawl through them.
Repairs in the tunnels can only be made by excavating the
ground in which the tunnels lie. The buildin,; is east of the
rest of the project on the entrance street to the admin-
istrative quadrangle.
in. Pumbouse Drinking water is supplied from a pumphouse
next to which there are also located Beware filtration
facilities. Rainwater drains'throut;h drainage pipes in the
grounde
n. In the Chauffeur's Quarters with Washing Facilitie there
are rooms for the changing of clothes, for washing, etc.,
of the drivers and all other Workers of the administrative
section. The building also contains a room for the trans-
portation chief and a sales stand of the ice.
gOdErbauatab IO is also charged with the construction of a
new w1ng on a primary school in Bernau to accommodate the
children of the 68 famllias who live in the apartments. In
the cellar of this new wing there is a kitchen for 250 persons,
a dining room for about TO persons, two work rooms with toilets,
beating and coal storage rooms and a room for the janitor. The
ground and second floors contain eiht classrooms for 30 students
each, one physical science room, one chemistry laboratory, a
principal's office, two office rooms and one teacher's room.
The corridor between the new wing and the old building will have
a roof and will be screened off on only one side by a glass wall.
D. 3ec_u2iLv Measures
1. Mf3 wuardes As of early March 1959, approximately' six Af8
personnel carried out guard duty throughout the construction site.
The guards wore civilian clothes, were apparently armed with
sideL - and maintained their roving guard on a 24=hour basis.
There was no evidence that they made use of dogs.
2. Employees of Brbauatarb~ 10 were advised to keep all
details of their activity on this project to themselves and were
told that this project was a ,-,erg (government
contract) which should not become general knowledge, On the
other band these employees were not required to si'' a west
(prohibition to visit West Berlin).
3. A two meter high reinforced concrete wall will surround that
port of the complex consisting,ot" the 20 villas, the 20 villa
shopping center, the recreation center and the administration
building
4. First floor windows at *be 20 villas are to have a burglar
alarm system..
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1. Us eeatre.l AtQitehDaard for the edlitz 20 villa site will
be loeated in tans of for roans of the :guard eaepagy building 25X1
tg_icerss
It is a .c d that the awitobboard 25X1
be Wriy 1W W and oaa;erehensive and will serve telephone oomwu-
nioat ORM SWAM the buildings within the site itself an well as
the central for regulanr telephone oammuaioatian With
Berlin and eeztsi4e areas. Pu mbar details on the central
stilt I'm 1 1-da a% wt knca u. As of early March 1959 no telephone
~inestrstments or other equipment had begin installed in the M and
yul .
2. Almost every room in each of The villas is to contain a
telephone iust t. Moreover each of the villas is to have a
direct tee line to Berlin which will not go t awotz the
central switcshboard in the guard building. Also projected for
each of the villas is a small switchboard to regulates
as Z tereoa within the house
b. Conam"catlana with other b dldinp in the Wandiitz site
Direct .lam to Berlin
3. As of early tierah 1959 no laying of cables 25X1
within the site or of aety excavation far this ptagaoee. Also as
of this date no telephone instate or equipsent has yet been
installed in any of the buildings.
!. From the follaming Internal evidence contained in the
above report it is believed that this Project is being constructed to
hawse and support 2D hl & Best Ou rm en funotionsries and is not destined
for Soviet door.
a. The Project is being build bar a specially created staff which
is directly subotdinte to the East Merman Office of the Presidium
of the council of Utnisterso 25X1
the SED Politburo took an active interest in:'xhe nseis of the 25X1
Project and put pressure upon the elements of the State Planning
Commission to provide some of the basic materials lair the Project.
b. Minister President Otto Orotewchl inspected the construction
area and took a personal interest in the details of the Villa No.
One (possibly bocaase he my oact> it).
a.. The doorway lintels of another villa had to be raised to
accommodate an extremely tall individual - as was the case in the new
SED Central Committee for the office of SED Politburo member Alfred
Neummon.
d. M As Project has a Real nw-warmer entitling it to draw vital
materials on a priority basis from other projects if needed.
e. It has been the practice of the Soviets in But Oa- ry to send
their children to separate non-Germen achools; therefoer, it is
believed that the children to tae the new wing being boil an the
Bum= school will be Osrmen.
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f. The security of the Wandlitz Project is in the hands of the
Ministry for State Security. Only about six MfS employees patrol
the Project at any one time. Although employees of Sonderbaustab
10 were not required to sign a declaration not to go to West Berlin
they were told not to discuss the Project with any unauthorized
individuals because it was a government project. The lax nature
of this caveat and the generally loose security patrol in the area
are believed to indicate that the East German government considers
secrecy only a short term desirability until the occupants move in,
when presumably they would be recognized by the local populace.
g. This area is only about 25 minutes commuting distance (by car)
from Berlin and would therefore be a convenient drive for functionaries
commuting to the city.
h. There are no office buildings in the area and no office space
except that required for administration of the area itself.
this is a Pro ect for occu ancy by East
Lerman officials is contained According to this
report VEB Funk-und Fernmeldeanlagen au, er in 17 has assigned tech-
nicians who have been informed that this job is a Sonderauftrag, a
term applied in the past to jobs carried out for the SED Central
Committee or for an East German Ministry.
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