WWII bunker hidden under Paris train station
PARIS (AFP) — It lies hidden deep beneath Paris’ bustling Gare de l’Est railway station, its sprawling subterranean rooms and sparse furniture pristinely preserved if a little dusty.
Originally built a few years before World War II (WWII) for luggage storage, the underground bunker was repurposed after the war broke out.
French railway historian Clive Lamming said its 1939 overhaul was to provide “a place to retreat in case of an air attack” so that the staff could keep the trains running east toward Germany.
“The concern was gas,” Lamming said, as he led the
AFP through a concrete air lock and heavy door to the shelter.
“We remembered World War I – a perfectly airtight place was needed,” he added.
With its 10-foot (threemeter) thick concrete ceiling, it was designed for about 70 people to be able to take refuge in the small rooms of the 1,300-square-foot (120-square-meter) shelter.
But, in the end, the bunker never really saw any action – Paris was largely spared from air attacks during WWII, and there was little danger of poison gas.
After France’s defeat in 1940 and the Nazi occupation, the bunker was requisitioned by the Germans and traces of their presence remain, including a sign that reads “Notausgang” (emergency exit).
“In my opinion, it hasn’t been finished,” said Lamming, as a high-speed TGV train loudly rumbled overhead.
Today, few of the thousands of travelers passing through the busy central Paris station will likely have any inkling of the time capsule under their feet.
Just a discreet trapdoor on the platform opens up to reveal a staircase leading down to the bunker, which is not publicly accessible except on certain occasions.
“For 80 years, it has been ‘Sleeping Beauty’,” Lamming said. “Everything is in mint condition from 1939.”