In the first half of the 20th century, the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works was the largest machine factory in Hungary, located on Csepel island outside the capital, Budapest. In 1944 and 1945, the Allies attacked this important industrial target several times, dropping thousands of incendiary and demolition bombs onto the buildings.
The factory played a key role in the heavy industry and military production of Hungary, which remained the last supporter of Nazi Germany until the end of the war. It produced all types of equipment, from airplanes and munitions, to automotive engines, tanks and jeeps.
To keep the wartime production on track, the 40,000 factory workers needed proper protection. So 17 bomb proof air raid shelters made of reinforced concrete were built in the factory yard, in the form of massive windowless cubes.
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the 15th Air Force nearly wiped out everything from the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works by the end of the World War II. Only the walls of a few production halls and the air raid shelter cubes remained standing.
Shelter No 2 can be visited as a memorial place and museum, operated by the private group Budapest Scenes. The following photos show you the simple interior of the shelter, where hundreds of men and women were sitting in complete darkness during air raids, listening to the frightening detonations and feeling the devastating rumble deep in their guts.
Photos: Attila Nagy/Gizmodo