After more than 60 years Berlin has lifted the lid on the location of the bunker where Adolf Hitler shot himself in the final days of the second world war, and prominently marked the site.
A large sign was erected this week near Wilhelmstrasse above the underground labyrinth where Hitler married Eva Braun hours before committing suicide with her on April 30, 1945, ending the Nazis' 12-year reign of terror.
Despite the avid interest of tourists who frequently asked local shopkeepers about the location of the bunker, Berlin had refused to identify the site for fear it would become a shrine for neo-Nazis.
But Unterwelten (Berlin Underworlds), a private organisation which offers tours of the city's subterranean architecture, won permission from the urban development authority and the state memorial office to put up the panel after years of lobbying.
Group chairman Dietmar Arnold said the sober factual description of the bunker on the panel was meant to rob it of the mythic power it had in the city while it was still hidden. 'We wanted to demystify the site,' Mr Arnold said, adding the organisation had aimed to have the sign in place in time for soccer's World Cup.
All that remains of the actual 18-room 'Fuehrer Bunker' are the retaining walls and the foundation.