[wzslider autoplay=”true”]Yugoslavia was in a difficult situation at the end of the Second World War. The country was destroyed, devastated and robbed. Post-war reconstruction of the country implemented slowly because of the conflict between Tito and Stalin that took place in 1948. Another reason was the deterioration in relations between East and West. Therefore Yugoslavian leadership realized that Yugoslavia would be the most affected in the case of a Third World War. So, Tito and his General staff had to find a safe place for the headquarters in case of nuclear war.
Tito and his General staff decided to build a shelter in Bosnia. Bosnia was chosen because of its geostrategic position, situated in the center of Yugoslavia, and it’s high mountains. The object with code name „Object D 0 ARC“ (Army Reserve Command) was built near the town Konjic on the right bank of the Neretva River below mountain Zlatar. The Object D 0 was built from March 1953 to November 1979. Around 4.6 billion US Dollars were spent on the construction. It was the third most expensive military investment in former Yugoslavia. Construction of the D 0 ARC was classified as the highest level of TOP SECRET. Each worker had to sign a Contract of silence. Only four commanders knew the real purpose of the D 0 ARC.
The bunker consisted of three parts:
One visible part (built as camouflage) with three objects: Tito’s overground residence, object for security and object for technical support.
One 202-meter long tunnel that works as a masked connection with the third part. Passing through first corridor of the first house and then three metal doors with a thickness of 1.20 meters, you will find yourself at the heart of a nuclear shelter – at a depth of 280 meters.
The third part of the building is a nuclear shelter. This nuclear shelter can withstand a nuclear blast volume of 20 kilotons. It has the shape of a horseshoe. This area is protected with several security systems like a fire alarm system, a system for protection against nuclear attack, air preparation system and so on. It is divided into 12 blocks. The most important are blocks 6 (communication), 8 (Tito’s bloc), 9 (lung object – air), 10 (fuel) and 11 (water).
The main purpose was to provide shelter in the case of the threat of nuclear war. The bunker could accommodate 350 people and those people could spend six months there without any contact with the outside world. The bunker covers an area of 6854 square meters and has more than 100 bedrooms, two conference rooms, five operational centers with direct telephone line, cable TV, two kitchens, five large toilets, hospitals with a surgical table, etc.
The temperature in the interior of the bunker is 21-23 degrees with humidity of 60-70%, which represents the ideal conditions for living.
There is an emergency exit from the building that is not marked on the map and leads to the mountain above. This leads out to facilities at a height of 170 meters.
In the period from 1979 until 1992 a former military policeman Serif Grabovica was working on securing the Object D 0 ARC. He says that the secret about this shelter was so closely guarded. He was even not allowed to reveal anything about this project even to his wife. She only knew that he was working in Konjic. Nothing else.
On the night between 7th and 8th 1992, commander of the seventh army district of the JNA, General Milutin Kukanjac ordered to destroy the D 0 Arc. The order was to destroy everything that you cannot take with you. It was necessary to activate the 4500 kilograms of explosives, which was already set. Shelter would be completely destroyed.
At that time Serif Grabovica was at work. Thanks to him, the previously mentioned did not happen. His secretary managed to uproot all the wires for explosives and the building was preserved.
Tito’s bunker is now a meeting place for artists from the region, Europe and around the world. It became Museum of Contemporary Art.
By the decision of the Ministry of Defense this military facility was handed to the jurisdiction of Common Affairs Service of the Federation B&H in February 2015. It means that you do not need a permission of Ministry of Defense to visit the bunker.
There is no evidence that Tito ever visited Object D0 ARC.
Written by Edin Hardauš
