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<\/p>\nDEEP inside a pine forest in eastern Germany lies a dark and looming compound known as "the forbidden city".<\/p>\n
The abandoned military complex – once headquarters to the Kaiser, then the Nazis and eventually the Soviets – has seen all kinds of history in its halls.<\/p>\n
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The huge structure in the Wuensdorf neighbourhood of Zossen, 25 miles south of\u00a0Berlin, is enclosed inside a 12-mile wall and a padlocked gate. <\/p>\n
For over twenty years, the 2.3 square mile compound lay untouched and completely cut off since the last Russian troops left in a hurry in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
Some brazen locals led tours inside the chilling site, but mostly it has been used by adventurous teenagers as a drinking spot.<\/p>\n
A giant statue of the communist revolutionary Lenin stands in front of a once grand yellow mansion.<\/p>\n
Murals of communist heroes are peeling off the walls, beer cans line the floors and mould and rust has taken hold.<\/p>\n It is a shell of its former glory – a complex where some of the most important decisions in history were made. <\/p>\n Finished in 1961, the sprawling site served the last German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, before becoming a Nazi command centre in World War 2.<\/p>\n It was repurposed for Nazi uses as they built fake country houses out of concrete that were designed to hide an underground system of bunkers and tunnels.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n In the main bunker, Zeppelin, some of the most devastating Nazi war planning took place.<\/p>\n As Hitler fell and Germany was divided up, the compound became the headquarters of Soviet military high command throughout the Cold War.<\/p>\n Known as "Little Moscow" of Germany, it became home to 75,000 men, women and children until the Iron Curtain was torn down.<\/p>\n Over 40,000 troops were sent to it straight from Moscow and lived inside its walls for two to three years at a time.<\/p>\n Higher-ranking officers spent up to 12 years stationed there and were allowed to bring their wives and kids.<\/p>\n They were able to enjoy the more luxurious parts of the complex, including its huge pool, museum and stately homes. <\/p>\n A former Nazi casino was transformed into a concert hall for Soviets – chairs still sit in rows in front of the empty stage.<\/p>\n It earned the nickname "the forbidden city" as local Germans were barred from entering inside its high concrete walls. <\/p>\n Now, it forms a haunting reminder of both Germany's Nazi past and the former might of the collapsed Soviet empire. <\/p>\n It is a ghostly testament to 20th century history. <\/p>\n But there are now plans to open it up and turn it into a tourist site – and some of the barracks will be transformed into apartments for locals.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, another abandoned Soviet site sits under the shadow of Russia's\u00a0Ural mountains – a rusting,\u00a0eerie site of a graveyard of trains\u00a0built in preparation for\u00a0World War 3.<\/p>\n The steel skeletons of dozens of steam locomotives betray a time when the spectre of the\u00a0mushroom cloud\u00a0loomed dangerously near.<\/p>\n During the Soviet era it served as a\u00a0nuclear war\u00a0base – ready and waiting to whisk\u00a0Russians\u00a0to safety if\u00a0all other transportation failed or was destroyed.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/JB-THAI-SKYSCRAPER_COMP-1.jpg\")
<\/picture>TOWERING MISTAKE <\/span><\/p>\nInside derelict skyscraper abandoned for 26yrs & is now agiant billboard<\/h3>\n
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<\/picture>LEFT TO ROT <\/span><\/p>\nInside train graveyard where Brit engines & carriages are rusting in the desert<\/h3>\n
Most read in The Sun<\/h2>\n
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<\/picture>waltzing off <\/span><\/p>\nStrictly thrown into chaos as star forced to pull out of this weekend\u2019s show<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ac-weather-20oct-1520-comp.jpg\")
<\/picture>FLIGHT TERROR <\/span><\/p>\nKiller storm claims third victim amid warning ‘worst is yet to come’<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/newspress-collage-24468430-1697806575158.jpg\")
<\/picture>CHA-CHA CHAOS <\/span><\/p>\nStrictly chaos as Adam Thomas is BANNED from rehearsals<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/newspress-collage-24467536-1697801692925.jpg\")
<\/picture>won’t be the sam <\/span><\/p>\nEmmerdale legend CONFIRMS soap exit after 25 years on ITV show<\/h3>\n
Read More on The Sun<\/h2>\n
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