​​Bunker Trail Friedbusch – Last resort in the hour of need​

​​In anticipation of the major Russian offensive in the central section of the Eastern Front and the invasion of France by the Western Allies, the end of the Third Reich became apparent in the spring of 1944. 

​The number of conscientious objectors in Luxembourg rose rapidly. When 400 Luxembourgish conscripts were called up for the German Wehrmacht in April 1944, another 160 young conscripts defied the Nazi order. 

​The Gestapo's regular waves of arrests against the Luxembourg Resistance movements had greatly reduced the number of smugglers and secret shelters. Hundreds of conscientious objectors had already gone into hiding in disused side tunnels of mines and other hiding places in the south of the country. There was an urgent need for more hiding places. 

​With the help of courageous villagers from Differdingen, an attempt was made to set up an alternative bunker in the less accessible area near Schlindermanderscheid. This earth bunker was about 3m wide, 17m  long and 2.5m  deep, dug into the forest floor. 

​No fewer than 17 people stayed in this bunker ‘an der Dosbaach’ for 8 months until the liberation on 10 September 1944. The inhabitants of the bunker were supplied with food by death-defying residents of the surrounding villages. In the pitch dark, mattresses were obtained from the German rest home in Kautenbach, and even a heavy stove was laboriously dragged over a distance of 4km. 

​The bunker was guarded day and night and food supplies were collected from secret places during the night. 

​Particularly adventurous were the dangerous weapons transports with two carbines hidden in stovepipes, which were carried out several times by a lady in the luggage rack in the train compartment from Differdingen, 70km  away, to Goebels Mühle. 

​In memory of these dark war years, volunteers and relatives got together to restore ’An der Dosbaach‘ to its original state. On this occasion, the bunker hiking trail through the untouched nature with access to the bunker was also created.