<P> Cellars have always been much more important in Continental Europe than in the United Kingdom, and especially in Germany almost all houses and apartment blocks have been and still are built with cellars . For this reason, air - raid precautions during World War II in Germany could be much more readily implemented by the authorities than was possible in the UK . All that was necessary was to ascertain that cellars were being prepared to accommodate all the residents of a building; that all the cellar hatch and window protections were in place; that access to the cellars was safe in the event of an air raid; that once inside, the occupants were secure for any incidents other than direct hits during the air raid; and that means of escape in case of a real emergency were easily available . </P> <P> However, the inadequacies of cellars and basements became apparent in the firestorms during the incendiary attacks on the larger German inner cities, especially Hamburg and Dresden . When burning buildings and apartment blocks above them collapsed in the raging winds (which could reach well over 800 ° C), the occupants often became trapped in these basement shelters, which had also become overcrowded after the arrival of inhabitants from other buildings rendered unsafe in earlier attacks . Some occupants perished from heat stroke or carbon monoxide poisoning . </P> <P> Hochbunker (s), or "high - rise" bunkers or (blockhouses), were a peculiarly German type of construction, designed to relieve the pressure German authorities were facing to accommodate additional numbers of the population in high - density housing areas, as well as pedestrians on the streets during air raids . In contrast to other shelters, these buildings were considered completely bomb - proof . They also had the advantage of being built upward, which was much cheaper than downward excavation . There were no equivalents of hochbunkers in the cities of the Allied countries . </P> <P> Hochbunkers usually consisted of large concrete blocks above ground with walls between 1 m and 1.5 m thick and with huge lintels above doorways and openings . They often had a constant interior temperature of 7 to 10 ° C, which made them perfectly suitable for laboratories, both during and after the war . They were designated to protect people, administrative centres, important archives, and works of art . </P>

Where were air raid shelters most commonly found