Poznan Imperial Castle Tour (Hitlers Apartment and Office)

Military History folks will be fascinated by this Imperial Castle. Construction began in 1905 (plans were ready in 1904), and five years later, on 21 August 1910, during a visit of the emperor in Poznań (called Posener Kaisertage), the architect presented the keys to the new residence to William. The total cost of the building was five million German marks, and the castle is the youngest in Europe. William's first, and only, burgrave (Schlosshauptmann) in 1906–1918 was Polish nobleman, Count Bogdan Hutten-Czapski.
After the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) and the restoration of independent Poland, the castle became the property of the Second Polish Republic. According to a decision of the Polish government in 1921, the castle became the residence of the Chief of State and later the President of Poland. The building was also used by the Ministry of Former Prussian Partition (Ministerstwo byłej Dzielnicy Pruskiej). Some rooms were also used by the University of Poznań, Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego, and other organizations.
After the invasion of Poland and annexation of Greater Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939 at the start of World War II, the German occupiers decided to transform the castle into Adolf Hitler's residence. It was also used by the administrator of the Wartheland, Arthur Greiser. According to this decision, Albert Speer prepared the project of the reconstruction, which completely changed the rooms of the castle. Most of the rooms were changed into the style of the Third Reich. The chapel was changed into the private cabinet of Hitler, with a characteristic balcony with an electric-heated floor. The cabinet was a copy of Hitler's room in the Reich Chancellery; the architectonic details of this room survived World War II and are often used in films. The Throne Room was also transformed into an audience hall. Under the castle, a bunker for 375 people was constructed. The rebuilding was stopped in 1943 due to the Germans' negativity from setbacks on the Eastern Front.
During fighting in 1945, the castle was a temporary camp for German POWs, and was later used as a barracks by the Polish People's Army. During this period, the communist government considered the demolition of the castle as a symbol of the German occupation and bourgeois style. Due to a lack of funds, only some of the German symbols were removed and the upper part of the damaged tower was demolished.
During the war, the city hall and the seat of the town authorities were destroyed. The castle was renamed "New City Hall" (Nowy Ratusz) and later transformed into a center of culture. On 6 June 1979, the castle was declared a historical monument under the protection of the law.