Hitzhacker Strategic Petroleum Products Storage Facility (April 2026)

Facilities & Installations

The fuel depot at Hitzacker, on the Elbe River in north central Germany, was one of 10 strategic fuel depots developed for the Army and the Air Force. These were operated by the Wirtschaftliche Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (WiFo), which also came to control the distribution of petroleum products. The depots, with concrete-reinforced underground tanks each had storage capacities of between 100,000 and 200,000 cubic meters and by 1938, petroleum reserves totaled nearly 800,000 tons. Significantly, the depots had on-site facilities to blend fuel for specific uses.

aerial photo of Hitzhacker Strategic Petroleum Products Storage Facility

Coverage of the depot from April 1945 shows a new section with four new storage bunkers was under construction north of the original storage areas. Five very large horizontal storage tanks had been built in one of the bunkers. Work was in progress in another bunker. Five other bunkers with much smaller horizontal tanks could be seen southwest of the main area. A rail-served river terminal had been built along the Elbe River.

The complex had been recently bombed, with the heaviest damage confined to the supporting rail network and facilities. Despite this, an active train southeast of the complex showed it was probably still in use. A forced labor camp in the center of the depot had also sustained some damage.