مخبأ أدولف هتلر في الجبال ومنطقة أوبرسالزبيرج .. سلسلة صور Obersalzberg Nazi Complex

[يحي الشاعر]

فكرت أكثر من مرة ، في ان أدون وأنشر صور عن مخبأ أدولف هتلر في جبال منطقة أوبرسالزبورج Obersalzberg في أعالي الجبال فوق بيرختيس جادن Berchtesgadenلا يمكن تصور جمال المنطقة ....

زرتها أكثر من مرة ... ومهما كتبت ... فلن يمكنني سوي القول ... بأنه يجب علي كل من يتمكن .. من زيارة هذه المنظقة ... وخاصة المخابيء المتحف الموجود هناك ....

وكما نعرف لا يكتب الألمان ولا ينشرون صور عن هذه المنطقة ... ويتناسون الماضي ...

وأخيرا وجدت صفحة أمريكية ... تمتليء بالصور والخرائط عن منزل هتلر ... ومخبأه ... والمخابيء في المنطقة ... ومنازل المارشال هيرمان جورنج ... وصور نادرة جدا ... بل عن المخابيء التي زرتهم في المنطفة

لذلك ... سأنشر السلسلة من الصور ...ومعهم بعض المعلومات باللغة الأنجليزية .... عن الأماكن التالية التي ترونها أيضا في الصورة الكبري

1 - Goering's Adjutant's house6 - SS Kaserne11 - Platterhof2 - Gِoering's house7 - Kindergarten/Modellhaus12 - Gنstehaus3 - Gِoeringhügl hill8 - Hotel Zum Tuerken13 - Main SS guardhouse4 - Greenhouse9 - Hitler's Berghof14 - Kampfhنusl5 - Bormann's house10 - Platterhof garage15 - Gutshof​

وفي نهاية السلسلة ... سأضع شرح كامل ... عن الأهالي في بيرختيس جادن Berchtesgaden ومشاعرهم تجاه الماضي والحاضر والأجانب علاوة علي بعض التصائح لمن يزور المنطقة



د. يحي الشاعر
اقتباس:

Obersalzberg Nazi Complex​

The main area of Nazi occupation in Berchtesgaden was on the Obersalzberg, a quiet mountain retreat two miles east of Berchtesgaden and some 1200 feet higher in elevation. This page is divided into various sections to cover this area; follow these links to visit each specific area: Berghof (Hitler's home), Bormann's and Gِring's houses, Platterhof, Gنstehaus and Kampfhنusl, Hotel Zum Türken, bunker system, Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles Nest), SS barracks, Gutshof and Teehaus, miscellaneous buildings.
Construction of the eventual mammoth Nazi complex on the Obersalzberg began about 1935. Hitler already had his Haus Wachenfeld (later renamed the "Berghof"), and Hermann Gِring also had a small rustic house higher on the hill. Both of these were later enlarged and remodeled, although Gِring's house retained somewhat the character of a rustic country "landhaus" (Gِring was an avid hunter and outdoorsman). To control the crowds who came to see their Führer and Reichskanzler in his home in Berchtesgaden, SS guards were brought in, barracks had to be built, lodgings for all the workers needed for the construction and remodeling were required, accommodations for important guests were necessary, housing for all the needed staff had to be built, kindergartens for their children, etc. Soon the mountain area was a vast scene of construction, and a high fence was built around the entire area to keep the crowds away. Eventually, mostly by design of Nazi Reichsleiter Martin Bormann (who ran the Obersalzberg complex), Hitler's palatial Berghof (no longer a rustic mountain lodge) was surrounded by a security area from which the common people of the Third Reich were excluded. Some of these buildings can be seen in this 1981 photo, taken from the Kehlsteinhaus almost 3000 feet higher on the Hoher Gِll mountain overlooking the Obersalzberg. A plan showing these buildings appears below. Click here for a MapQuest map of the Obersalzberg.​

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Compare this photo taken from the same spot ca. 1940. Most of the Obersalzberg buildings can be seen, although the Berghof is hidden behind the woods in the right-center of the photo.
Many of these buildings were severely damaged and substantially destroyed in a Royal Air Force bombing attack on 25 April 1945. The map below shows the locations of the various buildings and ruins ca. 1960. (Verlag Therese Partner, Hotel Zum Türken (author's collection)​

1 - Gِring's Adjutant's house6 - SS Kaserne11 - Platterhof2 - Gِring's house7 - Kindergarten/Modellhaus12 - Gنstehaus3 - Gِringhügl hill8 - Hotel Zum Türken13 - Main SS guardhouse4 - Greenhouse9 - Hitler's Berghof14 - Kampfhنusl5 - Bormann's house10 - Platterhof garage15 - Gutshof

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This interesting plan of the central Obersalzberg area can be compared to the one above. This plan was published
ca. 1945, apparently for use of the first U.S. soldiers who reached the area. It was apparently published prior to the
American occupation of the Obersalzberg, as it contains several errors that probably would not have been made by
a mapmaker who was on the ground. (author's cllection)​

This interesting aerial photo shows the core Obersalzberg area in the summer of 1936, following the conversion of Hitler's Haus Wachenfeld into the Berghof. The view is looking southeast, with the Berghof in the center. On the road below the Berghof can be seen the main SS guard house, which spanned the access road. The road going down the hill below the guard house led to Villa Bechstein, which the Nazis used as a guest house for visiting dignitaries, most usually Josef Goebbels.
At the same level as the guard house, on the left side of this view, is Freidinglehen, the Rasp house. The elderly farmer Josef "Fleck" Rasp was Hitler's closest neighbor, but he was forced to sell out and move away soon after this picture was taken, since Martin Bormann would not allow private individuals to live in the closed-off Führer area. Just above the Rasp house can be seen the beginning of the walkway to Hitler's Teehaus on the Mooslahnerkopf.
To the left-rear of the Berghof can be seen the Hotel Zum Türken, whose proprietor had already been forced to leave by the Nazis, and the building was being used by the SS guard force. Up the hill behind the Türken can be seen various private houses, which were all later torn down by Bormann to make room for the SS barracks complex.
Just to the left of the Türken is the Oberwurflehen house, which also fell victim to Bormann's plans. On the hill above, between Oberwurflehen and the Türken, is the Obersalzberg chapel "Maria Hilf," which would also shortly be torn down by Bormann.
(National Archives, RG 260-NS)
Compare the top view to the ca.1934 view at left, showing Haus Wachenfeld after its first renovation, and to the May 1945 photo below. In the earlier view at left, the building at the bottom is the rarely-seen Villa Bechstein, owned by Helena Bechstein of the world famous piano making family. She was an ardent Hitler supporter, and Bormann had the use of her Obersalzberg villa as a guesthouse. When Goebbels visited Hitler on the Obersalzberg, he usually stayed in the Villa Bechstein.
(1942-dated postcard in author's collection)​

This aerial reconnaissance photo was taken prior to the 25 April 1945 bombing of the Obersalzberg, for pilots and bombardiers to study. Some snow shows on the ground in this March 1945 photo, but the dark mottling that can be seen on the roofs of several of the buildings was camouflage netting or an attempt at camouflage painting. Some of the buildings also received camouflage patterns on their sides late in the war. Obviously, this was a futile effort. Key to the identifications:
A -- Hintereck area
B -- Greenhouse building
C -- SS Kaserne
D -- Kindergarten and Modellhaus/Filmarchiv
E -- Hotel Zum Türken
F -- Platterhof complex
G -- Hitler's Berghof
H -- Gنstehaus Hoher Gِll
J -- SS guard house
(U.S. Army photo, Life Magazine, 19 March 1945)​

This photo, one of a series of aerial views taken in mid-May 1945 by the U.S. Army Air Forces, shows a similar view to that above (showing more to the right). The ruined Berghof, hit at least twice during the 25 April 1945 bombing by the RAF, and later set on fire by departing SS troops, is at the lower left-center of the photo. Comparing to the photo and map above, you can also see the partly-ruined Hotel Zum Türken and the main SS guard house. Uphill from the Türken is the bombed-out SS barracks complex. Not visible in the photo above, but seen in this one, are the Platterhof hotel (right center), with its Guest House just below. The roof of the garage and employees quarters for the Platterhof can be seen to the left of the Platterhof, adjacent to the SS barracks. This view also shows one of the emergency exits to the air raid shelter system beneath the hill behind the Berghof - a lighter hued area just off the left wingtip of the P-47 Thunderbolt seen in the lower center of the photo. In the left distance can be seen the buildings of the Klaushِhe settlement. (National Archives, RG 342-FH)​

Another in the series of May 1945 aerial views shows the Hotel Zum Türken on the right, with the ruins of the Kindergarten house and the SS barracks uphill behind it. To the left of the SS barracks buildings is the shattered greenhouse, and farther on, at the left edge of this view, are the ruins of Bormann's house. In the lower left-center of the photo is the bombed Unterwurflehen house, where the SS officer who ran the Obersalzberg administrative offices lived. Note how the bombing churned the roads up so that they were barely passable in this area, and note the P-47 Thunderbolt in the center of the photo. (National Archives, RG 342-FH, 3A20805)​

A part of another in the series of May 1945 aerial views shows this same area, from a different angle. The main SS guardhouse is at the bottom, with the Berghof ruins in the right-center of the photo and the Türken just above. In the left-center are the ruins of the Unterwurflehen house, with Bormann's destroyed house on the hill above. Landhaus Gِring appears at the upper left (looking not too badly damaged here). This photo has a good view of one of the Berghof bunker emergency exits, to the lower right of the Berghof ruins (see a modern photo of this bunker exit here). Many of the bomb craters seen in these 1945 photos can still be found in undeveloped areas on the Obersalzberg. (National Archives, RG 342-FH) ​

In this view the P-47 Thunderbolt is flying in front of the ruins of Hitler's Berghof. The destruction from the bombing
and fire is evident. Buildings of the SS Kaserne can be seen in the left background. (National Archives, RG 342-FH, 3A20796)​

This photo taken about 1960 shows the ruins of the Obersalzberg. Comparison to the photos and map above will identify most of these features. The Berghof site is at the lower-right - the garage and retaining walls can be seen. The rebuilt Hotel Zum Türken is adjacent, with an open area above, where the SS Kaserne was located. The large dug out area across the road from the Türken (below the site of Bormann's house) was where fill was taken to make the parking lot for the Kehlsteinhaus buses, which can be seen near the center of the photo (contrary to some sources, this fill was not taken from the actual site of Bormann's house, but from further down the hill). The greenhouse foundations can be seen in the center of the photo, with the Gِring Hill to the left, still showing numerous bomb craters. Above that can be seen Gِring's Adjutant's house, the SS houses at the Hintereck, the Koksbunker, and at the top of the photo, the parking lot for the Klaushِhe settlement.​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

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Hitler's Berghof​

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Haus Wachenfeld, prior to the extensive modifications that turned it into the Berghof (the view is from the road below the Hotel Zum Türken). (colorized period photo postcard)​

The Berghof after its first reconstruction. In the foreground is a guard detachment from Hitler's bodyguard regiment, the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler, in full dress uniforms. (Wenn alle Brüder schweigen, 1981 ed.)​

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The Berghof after the 1936 remodeling, from the front, with the Hoher Gِll mountain behind (the view is from near the Teehaus on the Mooslahnerkopf).
Similar view today - the roof of the Hotel Zum Türken is visible in the trees near the left center of the photo. The Berghof site is in the trees at the center of this photo.​

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The Berghof after the April 1945 bombing destruction. Compare to the front view above. (This photo was taken by my father, U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Delbert R. Walden, in 1946.) (Walden collection)
View of the ruined Berghof, taken by
my father in 1946. Compare to the side views above. (collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden)
Same view in 1999, taken from the road below the Hotel Zum Türken. Only the two driveways are visible. The main drive was the one further down the hill.​

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One of the prized features of the Berghof was a huge picture window (visible in the front views above) which could be lowered into the floor for an uninterrupted view to the north.


Picture taken by my father in 1946. The window is gone, but the GI tourists are still enjoying the view. (collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden)


The view so prized by Hitler - the Untersberg mountains (said to be the resting place of Charlemagne), with Hitler's native Austria visible in the right distance.​

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This view, taken 1 January 2001, is the closest one can come today to duplicating the view from the Berghof
front window or terrace, while avoiding most of the intervening foliage. This photo was taken from a site where
the eastern part of the Berghof stood, about 30 feet to the right of the Berghof picture window.
The Hohensalzburg Fortress is clearly visible on its hill above Salzburg, Austria, in the cleft at right center.​

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The sumptuous Great Room of the Berghof, with marble fireplace, chandeliers, and costly rugs, paintings, and tapestries. (period postcard in author's collection)​

View taken by my father in 1946, looking toward the fireplace seen in the previous photo. The interior has been completely plundered, even the fireplace, wooden stairs, and wall moldings. (collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden)​

Left - On April 30, 1952 (the anniversary of Hitler's death) the Bavarian government blew up the ruins of the Berghof. However, the garage (seen at the right front) remained on the site for many years afterward.

Center - Ruins of the garage in 1981. The roof of the garage served as a terrace, a popular place for Hitler to entertain guests in nice weather, enjoying the view of the mountains. The ruins of the garage were finally removed shortly after the U.S. Army returned the site to the Bavarian government in September 1995.

Right - Interior of the garage in 1981. The opening at the far end is the top of the auto doorway, which had been partially filled in. Another opening (not visible in this photo) led into the Berghof basement.​

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The view at left shows the Berghof as seen from Bormann's house. Note the stepped retaining wall cut into the hill, just to the rear of the house. This retaining wall is all that remains intact today, in the woods that have grown up since 1952 (the modern view is looking back toward the area pinpointed in the previous view, at an exterior angle in the retaining wall, between the Berghof itself and the adjacent Adjutancy). Some small remains of the foundation can also be found, as well as some of the original asphalt of the driveway, and ventilation and telephone cable access shafts into the bunker system. (In 1952 and again during the 2001-2003 destruction of the SS Kaserne ruins, rubble was occasionally dumped on the Berghof site. The present ground level across most of the Berghof site is several feet higher than the original ground level.) (MapQuest Map Link)​

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[يحي الشاعر]

الصور التالية عن مدينة بيرختيسجادن

مازالت القرية ومبانيها مثلما كانوا أيام هتلر ... وكل ما تم إزالته هو شعار النازية ... من واجهة المباني ، بينما يوجد العديد من المخلفات النازية في العديد من المنازل ...

يلاحظ رداء السيدات ، وهو رداء تقليدي يشاهد في المناسبات والأحتفالات والأعياد وأيام نهاية الأسبوع ... وما زال العديد من أهل القرية ... يتذكرون أيام "زمان" ... ويتحسرون عليهم




د. يحي الشاعر


اقتباس:

Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg​

Adolf Hitler was introduced to the Obersalzberg, a mountain retreat area above the town of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps, in mid-1923. In 1925 Hitler stayed in a small cottage on the Obersalzberg upon his release from Landsberg prison, following the failed Munich putsch of 9 November 1923. In this cottage, later called the "Kampfhنusl," Hitler wrote the second part of Mein Kampf. In 1927 he rented and later bought a mountain retreat called Haus Wachenfeld. This house became the basis for a later expansion that turned the peaceful, out-of-the-way Obersalzberg retreat into a huge complex of Nazi buildings, mostly closed to the public. Nazi leaders such as Hermann Gِring and Albert Speer had houses in this complex, to be close to their Führer, but the mastermind of the Obersalzberg complex was Nazi Reichsleiter and Party Secretary Martin Bormann (who also had a house there, overlooking Hitler’s).

Bormann’s construction programs leveled most of the privately-owned retreat houses and mountain farms, substituting administration buildings, SS guard barracks, a huge greenhouse to supply Hitler’s vegetarian tastes, an experimental farm, a rebuilt hotel for visiting dignitaries, and housing complexes for the workers needed to serve all of this. Perhaps Bormann’s most lavish achievement was the Kehlsteinhaus ("Eagles Nest"), built on a mountain spur almost 3000 feet higher than the Obersalzberg and reached by a road with only one hair-pin curve, which was an engineering feat of the day.
Because the Allies feared in 1945 that Hitler would leave Berlin and set up an "Alpine Redoubt" to continue the war from the mountains, the Royal Air Force bombed the Obersalzberg complex on 25 April 1945. Many of the buildings were substantially destroyed, and looting by local residents, then by the Allied occupation troops tended to complete the job. One of the conditions for the return of the Obersalzberg to German control in 1952 was the destruction of the remaining ruins. Accordingly, the ruins of Hitler’s Berghof, Bormann’s and Gِring’s houses, the SS barracks complex, and other associated buildings were blown up and bulldozed away. The Kehlsteinhaus was saved, because it had not been bombed (although it was on the target list, it was apparently too small to spot and hit) and the Bavarian government recognized its tourism potential.
However, the U.S. Army had appropriated several of the less damaged and intact buildings for use as soldier recreation facilities, and these were maintained until 1995 by the Armed Forces Recreation Center. The key building was the remodeled Platterhof, renamed the General Walker Hotel. The Gutshof (estate farm) was turned into a sports lodge and golf course, and several hotels in Berchtesgaden itself were reserved for American soldiers. The Obersalzberg building ruins that had not been destroyed were left substantially as they remained after the 1951-52 destruction, and guided tours were available to these and the underground tunnel and bunker complex at the General Walker Hotel.
Since the return to German control in 1996, the fate of the remaining Obersalzberg buildings and ruins has been problematic. The garage to Hitler’s Berghof, which escaped the 1952 destruction, was removed shortly after the turnover (or at least broken up, and the remains buried); however, parts of the Berghof still remain (as shown below). The Platterhof / Gen. Walker Hotel was razed in late 2000 - only a side building remains. In 2001-2002 the remains of the SS Kaserne and adjacent buildings were torn out of the ground, and a luxury hotel was built near the site of Gِring's and Bormann's houses. The Berchtesgadener Hof hotel was torn down in 2006, and the ruins of the Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus were also removed in 2006. Apparently further destruction of the historic buildings and sites will continue in the future. However, in late 1999 the Bavarian government opened a Documentation Center in the rebuilt Gنstehaus Hoher Gِll, with displays on the Obersalzberg under the Third Reich and the Holocaust. Entrance to the Documentation Center includes entrance to the Platterhof tunnel complex. The government has proudly reported the increasing visitor numbers each year. Bus tours to the Kehlsteinhaus (several daily from May-October) are full during nice weather, and another popular stop is the Hotel Zum Türken, where a different part of the tunnel complex can be toured. History minded tourists will continue to visit the Obersalzberg because of what happened there from 1933-1945, regardless of the further destruction of the area sites. The history happened - it cannot be erased by removing the remains.
MapQuest map link to Berchtesgaden


Obersalzberg Information Update, as of June 2002 - If you ever plan to visit the Obersalzberg sites, I'd advise you to do it soon. As stated above, the Platterhof is now gone, except for the side building and terraces. The site is to be leveled off and turned into a parking lot. The contractor for the Bavarian government is in the process of tearing out all remaining ruins of the SS-Kaserne, Kindergarten, and Modellhaus/Film Archiv. The Hintereck cafe/kiosk will be removed, and the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) bus ticket building moved to the site of the Platterhof garage. A modern hotel is to be built on the former Gِringhügel hill, overlooking the site of Landhaus Gِring (the location was staked out in 2001, and excavation began in 2002 - construction of this hotel may entail removal of the greenhouse ruins and observation tower, as well as radically changing the local landscape and views). It is expected that the Berghof site will be covered and replanted, and even the Gutshof and Koksbunker may be removed. A few years from now, little may remain except the Hotel Zum Türken and ruined piles of rubble out in the woods.
July 2002 Update -- The Obersalzberg is now changing rapidly ... the removal of the SS-Kaserne ruins, which went somewhat slowly for over a year, is now almost complete. Within the past month, most of the former Eckerbichl / Hitler-Hِhe / Gِringhügel hill has been removed. This was the high hill beside the Hintereck parking area, overlooking the Obersalzberg ... the historic site where the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division raised the Stars and Stripes on 5 May 1945 ... it is now gone, soon (apparently) to be replaced by a huge glass and steel "luxury hotel."
September 2003 Update -- The new hotel is taking shape, and the Gِringhügel hill and the site of the SS Kaserne have been completely transformed. The site of the Platterhof Garage has been turned into a parking lot for the Kehlsteinhaus buses.
January 2004 Update -- All of the ruins of the SS Kaserne, the Kindergarten, and the Modellhaus have now been removed or buried. The new hotel structure is in place, obliterating the Gِringhügel hill, but the Greenhouse foundation ruins remain. The Obersalzberg ring road has been closed just past the Hotel Zum Türken. A new ticket building for the Kehlsteinhaus buses is being built on top of the Platterhof Garage site.
July 2004 Update -- The site of the Platterhof has been turned into a public parking area for the Kehlsteinhaus buses and the Dokumentation Center, and the ticket building for the Kehlsteinhaus buses is in service on the site of the Platterhof garage. The remaining arcade area of the Platterhof has been opened as a souvenir shop, and the adjacent Terrasse Halle will apparently be reopened as a restaurant.
May 2005 Update -- The InterContinental resort hotel, built on the Gِringhügel hill, has opened. Only a few remains can now be found of the Gِring and Bormann houses, and the anti-aircraft control system tower above the greenhouse was removed. Construction continues in front of the Platterhof Terrasse Halle, perhaps for a modern restaurant to be added to the terrace area.
June-July 2005 Update -- The grave marker of Paula Hitler has been removed from the Bergfriedhof cemetery and her plot used to bury someone else (see below).
September 2005 Update -- A restaurant has now opened in the Terrasse Halle of the Platterhof hotel. The Berchtesgadener Hof hotel will be torn down to make way for a mountain area visitor center.
May 2006 Update -- Destruction of the Berchtesgadener Hof hotel will begin in June. One or more of the back buildings may be kept as an administration building or garage. Paula Hitler's grave marker has been returned to her grave (see below).
September 2006 Update -- Destruction of the Berchtesgadener Hof was halted temporarily, and the main building is still there, but will likely be torn down this month or in October. The ruins of the Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus were removed in late August - early September.
October 2006 Update -- Destruction of the Berchtesgadener Hof hotel continues - the main building is now gutted on the inside and the roof is being removed. The Jodl-Haus at the Kanzlei site was torn down and a new house is being built in its place.
January 2007 Update -- A clean-up effort has been going on at some Obersalzberg sites. For example, brush and saplings have been cleared from part of the Berghof site, and the Koksbunker has been cleaned up. Most of this was aimed at clearing brush from the roadsides, and this work cleared the SS guardhouse site below the Berghof, leaving it plainly visible now.
November 2007 Update -- The side building of the Gutshof has been torn down and some modern apartment facilities will be built there. The remainder of the Gutshof will likely be torn down later. A 900-seat "Event Park" sports and concert venue will be built on the site of the SS Kaserne in the next couple of years. Paula Hitler's grave marker in the Bergfriedhof cemetery is again obscured.

Photos without credit are from postcards and publications available in Berchtesgaden; in most cases these have been published without sources given and without copyright notice. Modern photos are the page author’s, and may not be reproduced without permission. Refer to the bibliography for a listing of these and other sources.
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Members of the SA (Sturmabteilung) gather at the fountain in the main square in Berchtesgaden in the 1930s.​

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Karl Schuster-Winkelhof, son of the owner of the Hotel Zum Türken on the Obersalzberg, sketched the Berchtesgaden town square with the Watzmann mountain as a backdrop, in his rare book of art sketches that provide a glimpse of life on the Obersalzberg in the early days of the Nazi settlement there. This view was from a window of the Gasthof Neuhaus. (Karl Schuster-Winkelhof, "Adolf Hitlers Wahlheimat," Munich, 1933, author's collection)​

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Adolf Hitler reviews an SA unit in Berchtesgaden in July 1932. The formation was held in a meadow at the side of Koch-Sternfeld-Straكe, near the Hofbrنuhaus, below Nonntal Straكe. At Hitler's side is his adjutant Wilhelm Brückner. (period photos from "Deutschland erwacht - Werden, Kampf un Sieg der NSDAP," Hamburg, 1933; modern photo above and location information courtesy Ralf Hornberger and Florian Beierl)

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In this

undated postcard we see the Berchtesgaden Maibaum, or Maypole, festooned with swastika banners and topped with an eagle and swastika. The Maypole was located just down from the fountain in the square, at the beginning of today's pedestrian walking area. (author's collection)

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This photo series is from a family's 1936 photo album. They show a fest day in Berchtesgaden, with many people in the traditional Alpine Trachten clothing - the women in Dirndls and the men wearing Lederhosen and traditional leather jackets. (Such clothing can still be seen today on the Berchtesgaden streets.) The view above is looking down Marktplatz Straكe toward the square, with the spires of the Stiftskirche church in the background. The photos below were taken in the square, in front of the Gasthof Neuhaus. (author's collection)




Jumping forward in time to May 1945, the following photos show the American advance and occupation of Berchtesgaden at the end of World War II.

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[يحي الشاعر]

اقتباس:

As the Allied forces approached Berchtesgaden on 4 May 1945, Landrat (District Commissioner) Theodor Jacob was determined to save his Berchtesgadener Land from senseless fighting. The SS commander on the bombed Obersalzberg had assured him that he had no intention of defending the area, so Jacob disbanded the local Volkssturm defenders, and journeyed north out of town. He ran into the lead elements of an armored column of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division at the small settlement of Winkl, near Bischofswiesen. Jacob discussed surrender with an American officer in the column, who agreed to his proposals, but insisted that the actual surrender take place in the town itself (see photo below). This initial meeting is often reported to have taken place where the railroad tracks cross the road at Winkl, but it was actually about 1200 meters south of there, at the workers barracks in Winkl. Key to identifying this spot is the distinctive Kastenstein hill visible in the middle distance. This spot is today located on highway B20, near the main Winkl bus stop. The comparison photo was taken on the 60th anniversary, 4 May 2005. (National Archives, RG 111-SC 204343-S)

Elements of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division moving into Berchtesgaden on 4 May 1945. The M4 Sherman tank was coming from Bischofswiesen to the north, and had just passed through the small town of Stanggass. This photo was taken just up the street from the Berchtesgadener Hof hotel (see below) - the house in the background is called the Schِnhنusl. The comparison view was taken on the 60th anniversary, 4 May 2005. (National Archives, RG 111-SC 204345-S)​

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The armored force reaches downtown Berchtesgaden. These 3rd Infantry Division GIs riding on an M36 tank destroyer are viewing the Berchtesgaden World War I memorial, painted on the side of the town hall. The memorial painting by Munich artist Josef Hengge now includes the dates for World War II (Hengge did the original painting and the post-war restoration). Click here to see photos of the entire painting. The comparison view was taken on the 60th anniversary, 4:00 PM, 4 May 2005. (National Archives, RG 111-SC 374710)​

In this previously unpublished photo, Lt.Col. Kenneth Wallace, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division (on the right), discusses the surrender of Berchtesgaden with Bürgermeister Karl Sandrock (left, in overcoat) and Landrat Theodor Jacob (center), in the square in front of the war memorial. From there, this group traveled up to the Obersalzberg, to complete the surrender of the area, 4 May 1945 (click here to see photos of the capture of the Obersalzberg by troops of the 3rd Infantry Division). (National Archives, RG 111-SC 204346-S)

Visit the 3rd Infantry Division webpage, concerning the capture of Berchtesgaden
and the Obersalzberg, for other photos from May 1945.

Soldiers from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, walk along Maximilian Straكe (former Adolf-Hitler-Straكe) on 5 May 1945. The building in the background was marked Villa Graكl, and is today the Café-Bistro Grassl. (National Archives, RG 111-SC 333021)

A motorized column from the 101st Airborne Division drives up Bahnhofstraكe into the main part of town. Berchtesgaden's trademark mountain, the Watzmann, towers in the background. (National Archives, RG 111-SC)

GIs at the Berchtesgaden Postamt (post office) in May 1945 - a still from color movie film by George Stevens. The only change to the mosaic has been the removal of the swastika from the flag. (Max Hastings and George Stevens, "Victory in Europe," Boston, Little, Brown & Co., 1985)​

This photo from a 45th Infantry Division collection shows GIs taking photos of the Postamt in 1945. The mosaic was by the Munich firm of F.X. Zettler.
The swastika in the mosaic has already been removed (or painted over) in the 1945 photo.
(photo at left courtesy Frank Tompkins)

​

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The Berchtesgaden Bahnhof (train station) was built from 1938-1940. Designed in massive Third Reich style (to impress visitors), the building had a special reception area for Hitler and his guests. This private area is now the office of a travel agency (seen here on the right - around the corner from the circular tower in the left-hand photo). Note - the bus station was recently moved into the Bahnhof and a pedestrian covering erected in front of the main Bahnhof building.

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A couple of reminders of the Third Reich past can still be seen on the Bahnhof - on the left is the insignia of the Deutsche Reichsbahn above a doorway. On the right can still be seen the Hoheitszeichen wreath, and a faint outline where the Reichs Eagle used to be, over one of the Post Office doorways (building at the left of the main Bahnhof building). (Click here to see an air-raid tunnel shelter built for Bahnhof and Postamt employees.)​

The Hauptbahnhof as my father saw it in 1946.
(photo by Lt. Delbert R. Walden; collection of G.A. and G.R. Walden)

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​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

اقتباس:

Other Berchtesgaden Area Buildings
​

After the complex on the Obersalzberg assumed much greater importance in the Third Reich government, Hitler decided to build a second government seat in the Berchtesgaden area. This second Reichskanzlei (Reichs Chancellery) building and complex was built in 1936 in Stanggass, just northwest of Berchtesgaden (the main Reichskanzlei being the monumental edifice in Berlin). This Berchtesgaden Kanzlei was surrounded by a small complex of staff and security buildings, and served as a diplomatic center. The U.S. Army took the site over in 1945, and it served as the Armed Forces Recreation Center headquarters until 1995. Since the AFRC Berchtesgaden closed down in late 1995, the complex stood empty for several years, the buildings locked. The Reichskanzlei complex has recently been purchased by a private concern, who are renovating it for apartments, medical offices, shops, perhaps even a restaurant.

The Watzmann Mountain, symbol of the Berchtesgadener Land, towers in the background. (top-left - period postcard; top-right - Dokumentation Obersalzberg; bottom-left - Bayerische Staatsbibliotech; bottom-right - courtesy Clarke Family Archives) (MapQuest Map Link)​

On the left, a period postcard, with the corresponding view today.

On the exterior, only the Hoheitszeichen national insignia (minus its swastika) remains of the former owners. (Bayerische Staatsbibliotech)

Allied forces use captured Nazi staff cars for transportation to their headquarters at the Stanggass Kanzlei complex, May 1945. Before the arrival of the U.S. Army, the Kanzlei staff had abandoned the complex and retreated to the Hintersee, west of Berchtesgaden. ("The Epic of the 101st Airborne," 101st Airborne Division Public Relations Office, Auxerre, France, 1945)

Included in the Kanzlei complex were houses for Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, Chief of the Operations Staff. This is the Keitel-Haus, shown (left) as it appeared in the early 1950s under AFRC control, when it was called the Pershing House, and (right) as it appeared in 2001 (before renovation). (1950s photo courtesy Clarke Family Archives) ​

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[يحي الشاعر]

The nearby Jodl-Haus (called Haus Edda) was somewhat smaller (see the 1945 photo below). October 2006 note - the Jodl-Haus has been torn down, and a new house erected on the site.

The Jodl-Haus (left) and Keitel-Haus (right) both appear in this photo, taken 15 May 1945. The occasion was a visit by Gen. Omar Bradley, who presented awards to several soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division. (U.S. Army photo)

The Keitel-Haus has recently been renovated and is now a private residence. ("The Epic of the 101st Airborne," 101st Airborne Division Public Relations Office, Auxerre, France, 1945)

In common with most of the buildings on the Obersalzberg (and some others in Berchtesgaden), the Kanzlei complex had an underground air-raid shelter tunnel. This exit is in the hillside behind the main building.​

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A military barracks complex was built nearby in Strub in 1936-38 for the 2nd Battalion of Gebirgsjنgerregiment 100, and was cited in a 1940 book on German art as a classic example of harmonious military architecture blending into the surroundings. Although its official name was "Adolf Hitler Kaserne," the post was commonly called the Gebirgsjنger Kaserne (Mountain Troops Barracks). The post was used by the U.S. Army until 1995 but has now been turned back over to the Germany military (1942-dated postcard in author's collection) (MapQuest Map Link)

Further views of the Gebirgsjنgerkaserne in Strub, from period architectural publications and postcards.

The period insignia over the front door has been modified so that the eagle holds an edelweiss flower (symbol of the Mountain Troops), instead of a swastika.
The Lion Monument memorializes all those of the Mountain Troops who have lost their lives in war, in particular the Mountain Troops of World War II.​

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A Sports School for the Bund Deutscher Mنdel (BDM - League of German Girls - girls' Hitler Youth) was built in the Berchtesgaden suburb of Strub in 1938. The complex serves today as a home for the elderly (Altenheim Insula). Click here to see an air-raid bunker nearby. (MapQuest Map Link)
This building, located on the road to the Scharitzkehlalm, was used as a cooling house to store milk from Martin Bormann's herds that grazed in the Scharitzkehl pasture. Although not co-located, it was part of the Gutshof complex. (MapQuest Map Link)​

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[يحي الشاعر]

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The Adolf Hitler Jugendherberge (Youth Hostel) was also built in Strub from 1935-1938. It was designed by architect Georg Zimmermann. The building still serves as a youth activities center today. (from Werner Rittich, "Architektur und Bauplastik der Gegenwart," Berlin, 1938 (author's collection)


Period postcard views of the Adolf Hitler Jugendherberge. The view on the right below, which shows the other side of the building, shows the Watzmann mountain in the background. (author's collection) (MapQuest Map Link)

​

In the period view, Hitler Jugend boys play behind the Jugendherberge.




Another view of the Adolf Hitler Jugendherberge. (from Frau Prof. Gerdy Troost, "Das Bauen im Neuen Reich," Vol. 1, 4th edition, Bayreuth, 1938)




Hitler visited his name-sake Jugendherberge in October 1936, as seen in this photo from the Illustrierter Beobachter newspaper of 29 October 1936.


Below - the original doors of the Jugendherberge and original wood carvings decorating the façade. (left above - "Moderne Bauformen," 1937)

The entry hallway featured a display of Nazi flags - these are naturally gone today. Little else has changed - even the stairway railings remain original. ("Moderne Bauformen," 1937)


Architectural model of the Adolf Hitler Jugendherberge. The main building is on the left; the other
two buildings also still exist. (from Official Catalog of the 1st German Architecture and Crafts
Exhibition, in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich, January-March 1938 (author's collection)
​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

اقتباس:

Side plan view from a period architectural magazine. ("Moderne Bauformen," 1937)​

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This small pressed paper disc portrays the Adolf Hitler Jugendherberge. It was one of a series showing youth hostels across Germany, given as a token to those who contributed to the Winterhilfswerk Nazi welfare relief. (author's collection)
Click here to see a WHW disc showing the Baldur von Schirach Jugendherberge at Urfeld am Walchensee.

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During the early 1930s, before his fame precluded this, Hitler enjoyed long walks in the Obersalzberg area. One of his favorite walks was along the Carl-von-Linde-Weg, from the area below the Platterhof Hotel to the Hochlenzer Gasthaus. The photos above show Hitler at Hochlenzer, while those below show the approximate scenes today. On the left above, Hitler's adjutant Wilhelm Brückner opens the gate while Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach (in Lederhosen) comes up behind. On the right Hitler appears to be holding backpack straps, but this is actually his ever-present dog whip which he has looped around his shoulders. (Heinrich Hoffmann, "Hitler in seinen Bergen," Munich, 1938, and "Hitler, wie ihn keiner kennt," Berlin, 1932)

Hitler sits at a Hochlenzer outdoor table with Bruno Buchner and his wife, proprietors of the Platterhof Hotel.​

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Dietrich Eckart was a German Nationalist writer and early member of the Nazi Party, who considered himself Hitler's mentor. While hiding from the Weimar government Eckart stayed in a cottage called the Gِllhنusl, in the Hinterbrand area near the Obersalzberg. This house was later annexed to the Platterhof as a guest lodging. This view shows (left-right): Hermann Gِring, Reichs War Minister Werner von Blomberg, and Hitler visiting the Eckarthaus, ca. 1935. (from Heinrich Hoffmann, "Hitler in seinen Bergen," Munich, 1938 (author's collection)

On the right, the Dietrich Eckart house today. Used by the U.S. Army AFRC as a youth sports retreat called "Hinterbrand Lodge" until 2004, the house is now closed to the public. (MapQuest Map Link)​

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Eckart died in December 1923 in this house in Berchtesgaden, called the Sonnblickhنusl (now a private residence). (Florentine Hamm, "Obersalzberg, Wanderungen zwischen Gestern und Heute," Munich, 1941)​

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Dietrich Eckart was buried in the Altfriedhof cemetery in Berchtesgaden. On the left is a 1935 photo of his decorated grave; in the center from about 1936; on the right a recent photo. Note the difference in the lettering styles between then and now. At some point, possibly in 1945 during the American occupation, Eckart's name was ground off his marker, and was later recarved in a different style (this can also be seen from the type of stone finish on the front and back of the marker today). (left - author's collection; center - Florentine Hamm, "Obersalzberg, Wanderungen zwischen Gestern und Heute," Munich, 1941)​

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A hospital named for Eckart (Dietrich-Eckart-Krankenhaus) was built in Stanggass in 1940. During the war convalescent soldiers were treated here; after the war this was a local Kurklinik, but is now unused. (As of September 2005, the Klinik appears to be undergoing renovation.) (period photos and postcards in author's collection) (MapQuest Map Link)

 

[يحي الشاعر]

اقتباس:

The cupola in the angle between the buildings (seen in the right-hand photo) has a unique wind vane - see below.​

SS Chief Heinrich Himmler did not have a house on the Obersalzberg, but he did maintain a
house in Schِnau for his mistress Hedwig Potthast. This house, called the Schneewinkllehen,
was a vacation home for Sigmund Freud in the 19th century. The house is now private property​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

صورة المنزل الذي كان يسكن فيه هتلر في ميونخ ... ​

وما زالت هذه البناية موجودة في ميونخ وفي أفضل أحيائها بالقرب من التياترو ومطعم كيفير ، وهي منطقة تتميز بوجود العديد من مخابيء ضد الغارات الجوية ... تم تحويلهم إلي مخازن ... ولا تستعمل

كما يوجد بعض مربعات سكن ضباط النازي بالقرب من البناية

وحتي يتفادي أن يتحول المكان إلي مزار ... إستولت علية الدولة ... وأصبح مكاتب عامة لبعض الموظفين


د. يحي الشاعر


​

اقتباس:

Hitler's luxury apartment in Munich was located at Prinzregentenplatz 16. It was here that Hitler's niece Geli Raubal, whom some say was the only woman he ever loved, reportedly committed suicide in 1931. Hitler's apartment was on the second floor above the ground level (third floor, in American usage).(National Archives, RG 242-HB; modern photo courtesy Guy Dartois)​

Hitler's apartment building decorated for a festival in the late 1930s.
(US National Archives, RG 242-HB)​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

الصور التالية عن حياة هتلر في منزله ... ومقره الرسمي



د. يحي الشاعر


اقتباس:

"From Haus Wachenfeld to the Berghof"
Adolf Hitler's Home on the Obersalzberg, 1927-1945
Part 1 -- Haus Wachenfeld, 1927-1936
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"Haus Wachenfeld" was built in 1916 for a banker named Winter, as a vacation cottage (his wife's maiden name was Wachenfeld). It was a modest house, with only one large room and a kitchen on the main floor. Through his half-sister Angela Raubal, Hitler rented this house in 1927 for 100 Reichsmarks per month (some sources say in 1928), and he secured the rights to purchase it in 1932. He bought the house in June 1933 for 40,000 Goldmarks. After his election as Reichskanzler he commissioned architect Alois Degano to remodel the house, first with a sunroom added to the front (where there had been only an open front porch), a garage with a terrace on top, and additional out-buildings (later the Berghof Adjutancy). These modifications were completed in the spring of 1933. The extensive second remodeling, which resulted in the Berghof, was carried out by Degano in 1936.

Haus Wachenfeld ca. 1927, as it was when Hitler first rented it. (Hoffmann Photo Collection, Bavarian State Archives)
Haus Wachenfeld, ca. 1933, after the first reconstruction; showing the added garage and terrace, and enclosed sunroom. (period postcard in author's collection)​

Haus Wachenfeld, west side, ca. 1933. Facing the camera are, left-right, Wilhelm Brückner (Hitler's personal adjutant), Julius Schreck (Hitler's driver, in dark suit), Hitler, and Julius Schaub (personal adjutant). (postcard in author's collection)
West side of Haus Wachenfeld, after the garage, terrace, and sunroom were added. (postcard in author's collection)

The rare view on the left, from an undated postcard, shows the side of Haus Wachenfeld before the initial modifications. The similar perspective on the right shows the house after the garage, sunroom, and terrace were added. (postcards in author's collection - right dated 1934)​

Views of Haus Wachenfeld after the first reconstruction. The views at left and center were taken from the Hotel Zum Türken, and show the Reiteralpe mountains in the background (from period postcards in author's collection)

Aerial view of Haus Wachenfeld after the 1933 modifications. The building on the right would
later become the Berghof Adjutancy. ("Obersalzberg Bilddokumentation," Plenk, 1976)

More views of Haus Wachenfeld, 1933-1936. The view on the right shows the Kneifelspitze hill in the center, with the Untersberg mountains behind. (left - postcard in author's collection; right - colorized version of photo from "Adolf Hitler, Bilder aus dem Leben des Führers," Altona, 1936, (author's collection)​

Two views of the west side of Haus Wachenfeld, in the summer and winter. The summer view shows the terrace that later figured so prominently in day-to-day life at the Berghof. The rocks on the roof are a common component of Bavarian mountain houses - they help hold the snow on the roof, for added insulation. (both from "Hitler in seinen Bergen" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1st Edition, 1935 (author's collection)​

Hitler walks his Schنferhund (German Shepherd) Blondi, and Eva Braun walks her Scottish Terriers Stasi and Negus at the west side of the house (after its conversion to the Berghof). (National Archives RG 242-EB)
Hitler entertains visitors from the BDM (Bund Deutscher Mنdel - girls' Hitler Youth) near the terrace of Haus Wachenfeld. (from "Hitler in seinen Bergen" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1st Edition, 1935 (author's collection)

These two views are good examples of the souvenir postcards sold to the many visitors at Haus Wachenfeld in the mid-late 1930s. They bear stamps on the back from the "Kiosk am Haus Wachenfeld." The photo on the right was taken from the terrace of the Hotel Zum Türken. (author's collection)

Haus Wachenfeld during the winter of 1934. (postcard in author's collection)
Haus Wachenfeld above the fog in the Berchtesgaden valley below. (period postcard in author's collection)​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

Haus Wachenfeld as seen from the Hotel Zum Türken, and the same view today (the driveway seen in the modern view was not the Haus Wachenfeld drive, but a later addition). For further views of the site today, visit the Berghof page. (period postcard)​

Front sunroom (or "winter garden") of Haus Wachenfeld. These windows looked out from the sides of the house (west side on the left, east on the right) The smaller windows looked into the living room. The large windows on the other side of the room looked out onto the main terrace. These windows were separated by a doorway (not visible here). (colorized postcard versions of photos in "Hitler in seinen Bergen" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1st Edition, 1935 (author's collection)​

The Haus Wachenfeld Wohnzimmer, or living room. This room was used for cozy meals or meetings, due to the comfortable atmosphere created by the green tile Bavarian Kachelofen. (period postcard)
Hitler's upstairs bedroom in Haus Wachenfeld. This unique sketch is from a rare book of art by the son of Karl Schuster, owner of the Hotel Zum Türken. (Karl Schuster-Winkelhof, "Adolf Hitlers Wahlheimat," Munich, 1933, author's collection)​

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The Haus Wachenfeld Wohnzimmer, before and after remodeling. Even after the conversion to the Berghof, the interior rooms of Haus Wachenfeld retained somewhat their rustic Bavarian charm. (postcards in author's collection)

Continue to Part 2, to see how Haus Wachenfeld was turned into the Berghof.
(all period postcards in author's collection) ​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

"From Haus Wachenfeld to the Berghof"
Adolf Hitler's Home on the Obersalzberg, 1927-1945
Part 2 -- the Berghof, 1936-1952
​

To befit the head of state of a rapidly emerging world power country, plans were made to remodel Haus Wachenfeld in 1935. The 1936 work actually involved a total conversion, with large masonry additions of a main house and added wing, and an enlarged garage. Further work took place in 1938.

Haus Wachenfeld during its conversion into the Berghof, ca. June 1936. The west side of Haus Wachenfeld was retained, and the main part of the Berghof was simply added onto this. (U.S. National Archives RG 242-HB, 22443-22)

These colorized versions of period photos show how the Berghof was built around Haus Wachenfeld, retaining the west side of the original house. In the view on the left, the large picture window has been lowered into the basement. (from postcards in author's collection)

These period color postcards show how Haus Wachenfeld with its small terrace (on the left) was incorporated into the Berghof, with its enlarged terrace added to the front and side, over the larger garage. Hitler's native Austria is visible in the middle distance, through the cleft in the mountains. (author's collection)​

After the initial 1936 reconstruction was finished, the eastward extension of the house was only about half as long as it eventually became. This part of the Berghof housed the kitchen, dining hall, and quarters and working areas for the staff. The view on the right shows the 1939 completed extension, with its auxiliary driveway allowing deliveries direct to the kitchen area. (postcards in author's collection)​

The eastern part of the house was extended until it came almost beneath the Hotel Zum Türken. The view on the left, from Martin Bormann's house, shows a good picture of the layout of these Obersalzberg buildings. Bormann's house overlooked both the Türken and the Berghof, so he could oversee the comings and goings of the RSD and Hitler's entourage. (left - from "Hitler in seinen Bergen," 1938 ed.; right - period postcard; both in author's collection)​

View to the northeast, from the covered balcony on the second floor of the Berghof (what Americans would call the third floor). (from "Hitler abseits vom Alltag" by Heinrich Hoffmann, Berlin, 1937 (author's collection)
This covered balcony appears below the roof peak in this view, which was taken from down off the hill in front of the house. The wooden walkway that made its way down this hillside was the beginning of the path for Hitler's daily walk to the Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus. (period postcard in author's collection) ​

The grand staircase led from the driveway to the Berghof entrance. This staircase was the scene of many famous photos, showing Hitler's visitors such as Mussolini, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Neville Chamberlain, and other national leaders, diplomats, and military figures. This is a post-war view dating probably from the summer of 1945. The wooden door in the distance in the right-hand photo led to a film projection room, for showing films in the Great Room. The open doorway was the entrance to the Berghof itself, directly behind the photographer's standpoint. (left - U.S. Army photo; right - U.S. National Archives RG 242-EB)

The exterior doorway opened into a vaulted corridor, from which one entered the Great Room, or went up the steps to the upper floors. In the left-hand photo, the door at the far end led into the Berghof dining hall. The door into the Great Room opened in the left-hand wall. The door in the center of the photo led into a men's lavatory. The stairway seen in the right-hand photo led to the right just before the far doorway in the left-hand photo. (National Archives RG 242-EB)

The doorway shown in these photos led off the corridor into the Great Room of the Berghof, which Hitler used as a reception and conference room. This room was lavishly decorated with Persian carpets, Gobelin tapestries, and original paintings and sculptures. These views show the right-rear corner of the room and the east wall; the large picture window is behind the viewer, and the marble fireplace is just out of view to the right, on the back (south) wall. The Gobelin tapestry on the east wall was removed to uncover the film projection openings, and the tapestry on the opposite wall was removed to use the wall behind as a screen. (photo on left from a period postcard; photo on right from "Hitler abseits vom Alltag" by Heinrich Hoffmann, Berlin, 1937 (both in author's collection)​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

اقتباس:

Further views of the east side and rear of the Berghof Great Room, from period postcards. (author's collection)

Continuing around the Great Room, the doorway in the west side wall led into the living area of Haus Wachenfeld. The Gobelin tapestry was removed to use the wall as a screen for film showings. (period postcards in author's collection)​

Completing the circuit around the Great Room led to the front (north) wall with its famous grand picture window. This window could be lowered into the basement, giving an open view of the mountains. (left - National Archives RG 242-H; right - period postcard)​

Two views of Hitler's office on the first floor of the Berghof (second floor to Americans). (period postcards)​

Two views of the sun room in the Berghof (the old "wintergarten" of Haus Wachenfeld). (period postcards)

On the left, one of the cozy guest rooms in the Berghof, complete with Bavarian tile Kachelofen. These rooms were occupied by Hitler's secretaries and a few close guests, mainly Eva's friends (diplomatic guests were housed in Villa Bechstein or the Gنstehaus Hoher Gِll on the Obersalzberg, or the Berchtesgadener Hof in town, or the Kleكheim Palace in Salzburg). On the right, the Berghof dining room, with its decorative cembra pine paneling (Swiss stone pine). The dining room was located in the eastern extension of the Berghof building. Hitler sat in the middle of the table on the right, facing the windows and the view of the Untersberg mountains. (period postcards in author's collection)

Eva Braun's living room in the Berghof. Some sources say the painting on the wall represented Eva, perhaps with her face painted onto a model's body by artist Adolf Ziegler. However, this original painting still exists, and the face doesn't really resemble Eva. (left - period postcard; right - National Archives RG242)​

A few of Hitler's visitors at the Berghof -- on the left, a visit on the terrace from the Goebbels family (the woman in the center is Heinrich Hoffmann's wife Erna). On the right, the Great Room was the scene for the Leibstandarte's congratulations on Hitler's 55th birthday in 1944, presented by SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche, commander of SS-Panzerregiment 12 "Hitler Jugend." Wünsche and Hitler shared the same birthday, April 20, and Wünsche had previously been one of Hitler's personal aides. SS chief Heinrich Himmler looks on. (photo on left from "Hitler abseits vom Alltag" by Heinrich Hoffmann, Berlin, 1937, on right, from "Hoffmann & Hitler" by Rudolf Herz, Munich, 1994, p. 325)​

A military staff conference in front of the fireplace. The western side of the Berghof was an Adjutancy building, where many of Hitler's military staff and personal adjutants lived while he was on the Obersalzberg. Thus, they were always immediately available for conferences or consultation. (left - from Heinrich Hoffmann, "Hitler Was My Friend" (London, 1955); right - period postcard)​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

"Bormann's Tree"

Before the outbreak of World War II, Hitler often greeted crowds of visitors to Haus Wachenfeld and the Berghof from the end of his driveway, either standing in the drive or on the retaining wall next to the road. These public "march past" reviews often lasted for hours, and in June 1937 Hitler complained to Martin Bormann about the lack of shade on the hot summer days. Bormann immediately procured a mature linden tree from Munich and had it planted near the end of the driveway.

I have been unable to find a photo of Hitler actually standing beneath "Bormann's Tree," but the photo on the left above shows him greeting the crowds at the end of the Berghof driveway - this location would later be shaded by the linden tree. The photo on the right shows the linden tree at the end of the main Berghof driveway (triangular-shaped tree without leaves). (left - Heinrich Hoffmann, "Hitler in seinen Bergen," Munich, 1938)​

Further views of Bormann's Tree, also showing the details of the east wing of the Berghof. (left - period postcard in author's collection; right - courtesy Helly Angel)

These two U.S. Army photos show the Bormann Tree in 1945. On the left, GIs from the 3rd Infantry Division capture the Berghof on 4 May 1945 - the blasted remains of the Bormann Tree can be seen at the left. On the right, GIs touring the ruins in the summer of 1945 pass near the the Bormann Tree, stripped bare of its leaves. (US National Archives, RG 111-SC, left - #204347-S)

On the left, a GI guards the Berghof ruins in the summer of 1945 - the Bormann Tree is beginning to recover. When my father visited the site in early 1946 (right), the Bormann Tree was beginning to look like a healthy tree again. (G.A. and G.R. Walden collection)

These views show the Bormann Tree fully leafed out again. On the right, dignitaries visit the Berghof ruin later in 1946. The Bormann Tree has a sign tacked onto it which reads EINTRITT FـR ZIVIL VERBOTEN (Entry for Civilians Forbidden ... meaning German civilians). (left - period postcard in author's collection; right - US National Archives, RG 111-SC)

The Bormann Tree survived the 1952 destruction of the Berghof ruins - it can still be seen shading the end of the driveway in this aerial photograph taken ca. 1960, after the destruction and burial of the Berghof ruins (the rebuilt Hotel Zum Türken is at the upper left). At some point the tree was cut down, but its remains can still be seen as shoots growing up from the stump near the end of the driveway - in the recent photo on the right, the linden tree shoots are just leafing out in the left-center of the photo. (left - postcard in author's collection) ("Bormann Tree" story and details thanks to Guy Dartois and Ralf Hornberger)
Note: Clean-up efforts along the mountain roadways occasionally result in cutting down these shoots, but so far they have always grown back. ​

Destruction of the Berghof, 1945-1952

The Berghof was heavily damaged during the RAF bombing raid on 25 April 1945. This photo, taken
from a Lancaster bomber during the raid, shows most of the main Obersalzberg complex. The Berghof
appears at the bottom, showing at least two direct bomb hits. (Royal Air Force photo, Hotel Zum Türken)

This aerial reconnaissance photo taken shortly after the bombing shows the damage to the immediate Berghof area. The east wing
suffered a direct hit, and another bomb hit between the Adjutancy and the Haus Wachenfeld part. A bomb scored a direct hit on
the Hotel Zum Türken next door, and the Kindergarten building was also hit. Note the huge crater in the hillside behind the Berghof
east wing - from a Tallboy or Blockbuster bomb. This crater can still be seen there today. (U.S. National Archives)

Departing SS troops set the Berghof on fire on 4 May 1945, and the ruins were still smoldering when soldiers of the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division arrived that afternoon. Note the camouflage painting on the side of the house, which was also applied to the buildings of the Platterhof and SS Kaserne, and the snow remaining from a light snowfall the night before. (U.S. Army photos, National Archives RG 111-SC 204347-S, 204344-S)​

GIs of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, the first Allied troops to arrive on the Obersalzberg (7th Infantry Regiment), haul down the swastika flag from in front of the smoldering Berghof. (Contrary to what you read in several books today (Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers is the best known example), the 101st Airborne Division were not the first Allied troops to reach Berchtesgaden or the Obersalzberg. However, it is possible that a vehicle or two from the Free French unit "Régiment de Marche du Tchad" were actually the first Allied soldiers to reach Berchtesgaden, and perhaps the Obersalzberg.) (U.S. Army photo, National Archives RG 111-SC 205102)

This view, taken from the hill behind the Berghof, shows the burned-out ruin as it was found by the 3rd Infantry Division
soldiers. (Rupert Prohme, "History of 30th Infantry Regiment World War II," Washington, Infantry Journal Press, 1947)

These two photos from Yank - The Army Weekly (22 June 1945) show the ruins of the Berghof from the conquerors' perspective. On the left, the still-smoldering ruins as seen from the terrace of the Hotel Zum Türken; on the right, GIs from the 3rd Infantry Division enjoy the Berghof stores of wine and cognac. They are sitting at the top of the grand staircase, just outside the Berghof entrance. (author's collection)
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[يحي الشاعر]

اقتباس:

Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division arrived the day after the 3rd Infantry Division. In this May 1945 photo,
it appears that someone has been taking pot-shots at the side of the Berghof. (from "The Epic of the
101st Airborne," 101st Airborne Division Public Relations Office, Auxerre, France, 1945)

Appearance of the ruined Berghof in the late 1940s - early 1950s. The dangling remains of the tin roof, seen in the previous photos, have been removed. Some said that the smoke and weather stains on the side of the house resembled a grinning skull (see photo on right, and just below). (author's collection)

The view on the left, taken from the ruins of Bormann's house, shows the retaining wall in the back of the Berghof, which is all that remains aboveground today. (author's collection)​

To deter tourists, sight-seers, and neo-Nazis, the Bavarian government blew up the ruins of the Berghof on 30 April 1952, the anniversary of Hitler's death. The garage remained after the 1952 destruction, but was removed in 1995, after the U.S. Army turned the Obersalzberg area back over to Bavaria. (author's collection)​

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Remains of the Berghof site as it appears today. On the left, the site seen from the terrace of the Hotel Zum Türken (compare to the 1945 Yank photo above). When the Hotel General Walker (former Platterhof) was torn down in 2000, debris was dumped at the top of the Berghof driveway areas. This and previous fill and debris has raised the ground level across much of the Berghof site, several feet higher than the original level. On the right, the retaining wall at the rear of the site. The main part of the Berghof sat where the trees are growing in the foreground. (MapQuest Map Link)
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[يحي الشاعر]

حتي الأن ، شاهدنا ... مركز هتلر ومحل إقامته ...

عندما وقفت علب محل بلكونته وتطلعت إلي الجبال حولي والمنظر الرائع ...قلت لزوجتي ... إنه سيكون مجنونا إذا لم يوحي إليه هذا المنظر والمنطقة ، بسياسته للسيطرة علي العالم

أنصح كن يود زبارة المنطقة ، أن يأخذ وقته .. وأن يخطط يوما كاملا .. للمنطقة .. ولثضاب بعض الوقت قي شوارع ومطاعم ومدينة بيرختيس جادن

الأن ينبغي علينا معرفة بقية المكان حوله ... وأبدأ ... بثكنات الحرس SS
وسأغطي كافة المنطقة بشكل تدريجي ...

وسيكون الموضوع التالي ... "المخابيء السرية الضخمة ، التي تنتشر تحت الجبل وتلال المنطقة

كما سأنشر صورا من متحف "المركز الوثائقي" ... قبل أن أتطرق إلي نورينبيرج NUERENBERG الشهيرة وبرلين وميونخ وغيرهم



د. يحي الشاعر

اقتباس:

Obersalzberg​

SS Barracks Complex (Kaserne)
A housing complex for the SS guard detachment was built in 1937. This consisted of a barracks building, a kitchen/messhall building, a building for vehicle maintenance and storage, a sport hall (gymnasium), and a staff headquarters building, all grouped around a central parade field that was used for training and inspection of guards. The complex was severely damaged during the April 1945 bombing attack, and the ruins were razed ca. 1951. The building foundations, basements, and tunnel systems remained underground, but these were torn out and filled in during 2001-2002. Plans call for a sports and concert hall to be built on the site.​

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneweiss41.jpg"][/URL]
This drawing of the SS Kaserne and surrounding buildings is from a 1941 illustrated map of the Obersalzberg.
The Fahrerwohnhaus (Drivers House) and Dienstwagenhalle (motor pool garage) of the Kaserne are labeled,
as well as the Kindergarten building and the SS Wache (Guard) at the Hotel Zum Türken.​

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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSCompoundc.jpg"][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/baumann3.jpg"][/URL]


SS Kaserne in the 1940s. View from above the greenhouse, looking toward the Platterhof and its garage (seen in the background). The sport hall is the furthest building with a red roof, with the large vertical windows. The SS Kaserne garage is the building on the far left.

Same view ca. 1950. This photo was taken by ex-Nazi photographer Ernst Baumann. Note that the top of the anti-aircraft command and control tower shows at the bottom edge of the photo. (author's collection)

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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/optower81n.jpg"][/URL]


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Similar views in June 1981 (left) and May 2001. The building ruins were razed in late 1951 and the level area turned into a soccer field. The General Walker Hotel (Platterhof) can be seen in the left distance in the 1981 photo. The recent view shows the remaining SS building foundations being torn out. The uncovered basement walls of the SS Kaserne garage can be seen on the left.

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/baumannp1t.jpg"][/URL]
[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/baumannp2t.jpg"][/URL]
The complete Baumann composite photos, taken from the same spot on the Gِringhügl hill, ca. 1940 and ca. 1950. From left-right: foreground - SS Kaserne, background - Platterhof garage and Platterhof; center - Modellhaus/Filmarchiv; right - Kindergarten and Hotel Zum Türken, with the Berghof behind. (original photos in author's collection)
(Click on each photo above to download larger scale views, which show several interesting details.)

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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Oberg342FH20798.jpg"][/URL]


[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/verwalthartmann.jpg"][/URL]

U.S. Army soldiers, probably from the 101st Airborne Division, view the ruins of the SS Administration Building (Verwaltungsbau). Comparing to the period photo, taken from about the same place, shows the destruction following the bombing - the soldiers are actually standing in the main road from the Berghof to the Hintereck area. This Administration building appears in the lower and right center of the first color image at the top of this page. (My thanks to Ralf Hornberger for identifying the location of the 1945 photo.) (left - National Archives, Record Group 342FH-20798; right - Hartmann, "Verwaltung")​

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These composite photos show similar views of the SS Barracks compound, before and after the 1945 bombing. The view is from the road behind the vehicle maintenance building, looking across the barracks compound toward Bormann's house and the Gِring Hill (in the right background). The bottom photo was taken by my father Lt. Delbert R. Walden in 1946.

(top photo from Hartmann, "Verwandlung;" bottom photo from collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden)

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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneak2.jpg"][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasak.jpg"][/URL]Postcard views of the SS Kaserne.

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/osbpostbaumann.jpg"][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/osbpostbaumeisternov37.jpg"][/URL]Adjacent to the Drivers House of the SS Kaserne, but not actually part of the Kaserne, was the Obersalzberg Post Office. Very few period photos of this building exist - the only detailed view I have ever seen is above right. In the Kaserne view above left, the Post building is at the far left. The Post was a wooden building on a stone foundation. It was practically demolished during the April 1945 bomb attack. The remains appear in the May 1945 photo below, just to the left of center. (above left - period photo by Ernst Baumann; above right - "Der Baumeister," Nov. 1937; below - U.S. Army photo, National Archives)[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/osbpostruins.jpg"][/URL]

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[يحي الشاعر]

[URL="http://www.egyptianoasis.net/forums/images/icons/icon4.gif"][/URL]

لا يمكن تصور ضخامة وطول دهاليز مخابيء الحماية ضد الغارات .... وحتي لوألقيت علي الجبل قنبلة "ذرية" فلم يكن من الممكن أن تؤثر علي من كان في المخابيء ...

إن تفرعات المخاليء بجعل منهم مدينة ... تحت المدينة .... ويمتد عدة كيلومترات متفرعة ...

علاوة علي ذلك ، فقد كان لكل من كبار النازي الذين يقيمون في المنطقة ... نظام مخابيء خاص له ولعائلته وزواره وحرسه الخاص ... مثلا .. هيرمان جورنج ... و ... بورمان ... وهتلر ... والحرس الهام ... والحنود في المنطقة ... و .. و ...


د. يحي الشاعر

اقتباس:

Obersalzberg​

Air Raid Shelters (Tunnel and Bunker Systems)

When the air war over the Reich became a reality in 1943, Reichsleiter Martin Bormann was forced to order the construction of a series of air raid shelters and command posts for the residents and military staff of the Obersalzberg. These tunnels are often called "bunkers" today, but they are not technically so, since they were not meant as defensive positions from which to fight (even though their entrances were protected by machineguns), but simply as shelters in case of air attacks. They were used successfully for this purpose during the Royal Air Force bombing on 25 April 1945.
Elaborate shelter systems were built beneath the hill behind the Berghof, with tastefully furnished rooms for Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun; beneath the RSD headquarters at Haus Türken; and into the high hill near Gِring's house (sometimes called the Gِring Hill or Adolf Hitler Hill). The latter included Bormann's private shelter system, another private bunker for Gِring and his adjutant (which Bormann would not allow to be connected to the rest of the bunker system), and a command and communications center for the Obersalzberg anti-aircraft defense. There was also a tunnel complex behind the Platterhof, with a planned link to Hitler's bunker, and other less elaborate (or less finished) complexes in the periphery of the area (SS Kaserne, Antenberg, Hintereck/Klaushِhe, Buchenhِhe, Gutshof, Obertal).
The bunker systems consisted of multi-level tunnels lined with concrete and bricks, with associated power, heating, and ventilation systems, and anti-gas protection systems. Most entrances and emergency exits were covered by protected machinegun positions, and some of these were quite elaborate. It would have been difficult for any enemy to fight his way into these systems. The anti-aircraft defense center included a concrete tower containing a stairway leading to the surface, and also a periscope.
It should be noted than in addition to the traditional air-raid tunnel systems, there were access tunnels linking several of the buildings on the Obersalzberg, as well as tunnels for ventilation, water, and sewage pipes. Most of these smaller secondary tunnels do not appear on any published maps. Click here to see some of these access tunnels beneath the SS Kaserne, and here to see an access tunnel between the Hotel Zum Türken and the Filmarchiv building. See the Bibliography page for information of Florian Beierl's new book on the tunnel systems, "Hitlers Berg."
Most of the underground systems are now sealed and not accessible to the public, but a very interesting tour of some of the system can be had at the Hotel Zum Türken, and the unfinished military headquarters complex (Platterhof/Gنstehaus bunker) can be visited from the Obersalzberg Documentation Center near the Platterhof site.

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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkermap.jpg"][/URL]

Plan of the Central Obersalzberg Bunker System
The portions that are open to the public are marked in yellow. Other tunnel and shelter systems existed beneath other parts of the Obersalzberg, such as the Gutshof, Antenberg, Klaushِhe, Buchenhِhe, and Obertal. Many other tunnels existed in this area that are not shown on this map. (Dokumentation Obersalzberg)​

اقتباس:






[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSbasement.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSbasement.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSbasement.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSbasement.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

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In the early 1980s the wood parquet floor of the sport hall was still visible, and the basement was accessible through a hole in the ground. This basement (shown here) led to an underground rifle range.

In the spring of 2002, the demolition work at the site of the SS Kaserne uncovered the basement and rifle range. (courtesy John Figgins)

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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range05.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range05.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range05.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range05.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]​

Interior of the rifle and machinegun range in early June 2002. The marking in the center photo, "Zur Aufzeichen Deckung" (which can be seen on the wall in the right-hand photo) pointed the way down a staircase, to a covered area where firing scores were kept (this area was underwater when this photo was taken, and has now been filled in and covered over). (My thanks to Randall Lee Rose for these photos.)





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Two views of the ruined SS Kaserne taken by GIs of the 3rd Infantry Division in May 1945. Above, the barracks building; below, the sports hall (the ruins of Bormann's house appear on the hill in the distance). (Donald G. Taggart, ed., "History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II," Washington, Infantry Journal Press, 1947)
[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Oberg3ID88.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Oberg3ID88.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Oberg3ID88.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Oberg3ID88.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]




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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSKasGarage.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSKasGarage.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSKasGarage.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSKasGarage.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSKasGarage.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas7aug45_111sc252672.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas7aug45_111sc252672.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas7aug45_111sc252672.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas7aug45_111sc252672.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas7aug45_111sc252672.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

Garage building of the SS Kaserne, with a similar view of the ruins taken in August 1945. The chimney seen in the ruins view was for the central Obersalzberg heating system. (right - National Archives, Record Group 111-SC, 252672)​

 

[يحي الشاعر]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinen45.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskaserneruinsbaumannset.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]More views of the SS Kaserne ruins in 1945-1946. The photos above are looking from the area of the Greenhouse toward the Platterhof. The view at lower left shows the Platterhof garage on the left with the SS Kaserne ruins on the right. On the right below, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division examine a German Kubelwagen car at the SS Kaserne ruins. (above - postcards; below - U.S. National Archives RG 342FH, 3A20802 (left), 3A20799 (right)[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/platgarsskas342fh3a20802.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskas101st342fh3a20799.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]


اقتباس:

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSFahrer.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSFahrer.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSFahrer.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSFahrer.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSFahrer.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]​

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ssruins3.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ssruins3.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ssruins3.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ssruins3.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ssruins3.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
The garage building is in the right-center, and the building behind and to the left is the so-called Fahrerwohnhaus, or residence for the vehicle drivers and chauffeurs. The May 2001 view is from a similar angle, showing the uncovering of the building basements, before their removal. The floor and partly uncovered basement wall of the garage can be seen on the right, with the basement walls of the drivers house to the left.




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An entrance in the basement wall of the drivers house led to rough-hewn tunnels beneath and into the hill behind, with several partly finished rooms. This entrance can be seen in the period photo above, in the wall below the drivers house, near the garage building. This area had been covered by the soccer field until the spring of 2001 (it has again been recovered and is now inaccessible).







[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel6.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel6.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel6.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel6.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel6.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

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A further underground system below this level led to an access tunnel running beneath the garage building. This tunnel has several vertical structures that appear to be part of a drainage system (the one shown here in the center was damaged), and remains of wooden shelf units along the wall.







[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel5.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel5.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel5.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel5.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SStunnel5.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

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Various small rooms were also on this level beneath the garage - this one shows graffiti from visitors in August 1995.
Corroded electrical junction box in the garage tunnel.
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The last basement remains to be removed and/or filled in were those of the kitchen/messhall building and the administration building, in the summer of 2002. (courtesy George Foehringer)


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[يحي الشاعر]

Türken and Berghof Tunnels​

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkersteps.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkersteps.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkersteps.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkersteps.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerMG.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerMG.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerMG.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerMG.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
This stairway leads down into the tunnel complex beneath the Hotel Zum Türken, and on to the Berghof tunnels. At the bottom of the stairways, the entrance corridors were protected by machineguns (the corridor turns to the left just before the wall at the end). (All photos of the Türken tunnel complex were taken and published here by permission of Frau Ingrid Scharfenberg, Hotel Zum Türken.)


[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn11.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn11.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn11.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn11.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBerghof.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBerghof.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBerghof.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBerghof.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
Some of the corridors were covered by machinegun positions that had no entrances on the same level, but were reached from corridors below.
Bricked-up entrance to Hitler's tunnel/bunker, in the system beneath the Hotel Zum Türken (an anti-gas damper is visible above the doorway).




[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetberghof1.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetberghof1.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetberghof1.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetberghof1.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetstepstolssah.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetstepstolssah.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetstepstolssah.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersetstepstolssah.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersteps1950.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersteps1950.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersteps1950.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/bunkersteps1950.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]In the 1950s and 1960s more of the Berghof tunnel system was open to the public than is the case today. These photos from postcards of that period show (left) the corridor leading to the rooms for Hitler, Eva Braun, and Dr. Theo Morell (Hitler's personal physician); (center) steps leading to areas used by the guards; (right) the stairway leading to the main entrance at the rear of the Berghof

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker06t.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker06t.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker06t.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker06t.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
Inside the Berghof tunnel today. This view was taken through the hole in the upper-left corner
of the bricked-up doorway - the view is the same as the photo on the left above.




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[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1a.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]​

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1b.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1b.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1b.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker1b.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]
Emergency exits to the Berghof tunnel system. The exit above was the one that had a bazooka fired into it in May 1945 (see below) - although the exit appears to be open in this photo, it is closed today by an iron door just a few feet inside. The other exit (below) is also closed by an iron door (both doors are kept locked). The actual entrance to Hitler's tunnel system was through a doorway in the retaining wall at the rear of the Berghof, behind the Haus Wachenfeld wing (this doorway is buried under fill today).


[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker05.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker05.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker05.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghofbunker05.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker2b.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker2b.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker2b.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/Berghofbunker2b.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBazooka2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBazooka2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBazooka2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/BunkerBazooka2.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunker06g.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunker06g.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunker06g.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunker06g.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]When the U.S. Army moved onto the Obersalzberg on 4 May 1945, they did not know if the underground systems were defended. So they fired bazookas into some of the emergency exit openings. The photo on the left shows damage to an interior machinegun position from a bazooka fired into the Berghof system emergency exit corridor near the Hotel Zum Türken, marked on the map above. The corridor above marked MG-STAND led to this position, and on to the corridor leading to the emergency exit.

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkermaschinenraum.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkermaschinenraum.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkermaschinenraum.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkermaschinenraum.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkerventroom.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkerventroom.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkerventroom.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/tuerkenbunkerventroom.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn22.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn22.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn22.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/turkbunkn22.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]Left - machinery room in the Türken tunnel system, for power generation systems; center - room for ventilation equipment (the connection to the similar tunnel beneath the Berghof tunnels has been bricked up); right - corridor leading to Bormann's tunnel system (closed off further around the corner).












[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/rifle_range07.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/ammo.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

Period markings on the rifle range wall - presumably firing scores or notes. On the right, relics from the rifle range in 2002 - a belt of links from an MG-34 machinegun, along with various cartridge cases and bullets. (My thanks to Randall Lee Rose for these photos.)​

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/kasernegatet.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/SSkasruins2.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/OBSSkaserne.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]​

Entrance to the main barracks building, before and after the 1945 bombing.

[URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead1a.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][URL="http://www.thirdreichruins.com/sskasernehead.jpg"][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL][/URL]The head from the right-hand figure over the Kaserne entrance still exists in a private collection in France - brought back by one of the French soldiers who occupied the Obersalzberg. (courtesy Guilhem Touratier)