The term "Bendler Block" refers to a historic building complex located near the Tiergarten park along the southern edge of what was once the diplomatic quarter of Berlin. Until 1945, the buildings were used by the military. It was here that the expansion of the German navy was planned during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Later, during the Weimar Republic, military leaders sought here to define the role of the Reichswehr in the now democratic state. The Bendler Block was also the site of Hitler's speech of February 3, 1933, on "Lebensraum (living space) in the east." Yet the site is best remembered as the center of the attempt to overthrow the National Socialist regime on July 20, 1944.

Between 1911 and 1914, a spacious new building complex was erected for the Reich Navy Office in Berlin's Tiergarten district. The main building was at Konigin-Augusta-Strasse 38-42 (renamed Tirpitzufer after 1933, and today called Reichpietschufer) overlooking the Landwehr Canal. The east wing was at Bendlerstrasse 14 (today called Stauffenbergstrasse). With the expansion of the fleet, the Reich Navy Office had outgrown its former offices on Leipziger Platz.

In January 1933, senior Reichswehr officers under General Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord met in the Bendler Block to discuss whether Hitler's appointment to chancellor could still be prevented.

[Translate to english:]

Seit den 1950er Jahren nutzen vor allem Behörden des Bundes und des Landes Berlin sowie die Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand den Bendlerblock. Seit 1993 dient der größte Teil des Bendlerblocks dem Bundesministerium der Verteidigung als zweiter Dienstsitz.