Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Alpine Fortress" in English language version.
Only Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels recognized the value of an Alpenfestung, and then merely to exploit 'redoubt hysteria' among the Americans. Convening a secret meeting of German editors and journalists in early December 1944, Goebbels ensured the dissemination of rumors about a national redoubt by expressly forbidding any mention of such a thing in German newspapers. Then, in January 1945, he organized a special propaganda section to concoct stories about Alpine defensive positions. All the stories were to stress the same themes: impregnable fortifications, vast underground storehouses loaded with supplies, subterranean factories, and elite troops willing to fight fanatically to the last.
In addition, Goebbels saw to it that rumors leaked not only to neutral governments but also to German troops. Because Allied intelligence drew on POW interrogations as well as reports from neutral countries, these actions ensured the further dissemination of apparent evidence of an Alpenfestung.
Finally, Goebbels enlisted the aid of the SD to produce fake blueprints, reports on construction timetables, and plans for future transfers of troops and ammunition into the redoubt.
This must rank as one of the worst intelligence reports of all time, but no one knew that in March of 1945, and few even suspected it. [...] Even Churchill was afraid of these possible developments.
