From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

The Berghof was Adolf Hitler's home in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Germany. Next to the Wolfsschanze this was the place where Hitler spent the most time during World War II, and it was one of the most famous of the Führer Headquarters which were located throughout Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Hitler's house 2 Post war ruins 3 See also 4 References 5 Notes 6 External links

The Berghof was developed in stages from a much smaller house named Haus Wachenfeld, which Hitler rented beginning in the late 1920s. In 1933 Hitler was able to purchase the house with funds he received through the sale of his political book Mein Kampf. The site is breathtakingly scenic. The valley below appears by illusion to be a lake almost at one's feet. It was located lower down the same mountain as the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) which Hitler rarely visited. A large complex of mountain homes for the Nazi leadership (along with many buildings for their security and support staff) was constructed nearby.

The original small chalet-style building was rebuilt, again in chalet-style, and then continuously enlarged until the War. A large terrace was added. There was a dining room panelled with very expensive cembra pine. The Great Hall was also expensively furnished and boasted an enormous picture window which could be lowered into the wall to give unimpeded views towards Hitler's native Austria. The following description is from a November 1938 article published in Homes & Garden:

There is nothing pretentious about the Führer's little estate. It is one that any merchant of Munich or Nuremberg might possess in these lovely hills.

The entrance hall is filled with a curious display of cactus plants in majolica pots. Herr Hitler's study is fitted as a modern office, and leading out of this is a telephone exchange. From here it is possible for the Führer to invite his friends or Ministers to fly over to Berchesgarden, landing on his own aerodrome just below the chalet lawns.

The site commands the fairest view in all Europe. This is to say much, I know. But in these Bavarian Alps there is a peculiar softness of greenery, with snow-white cascades and forest-clad pinnacles, like the Schönfeldspitze and Teufelshörner.

Hitler's home looks out upon his native Austria. Meals are often served on the terrace on little tables shaded by big canvas umbrellas. From this view-point a chain of drowsy lakes is seen far below, with ancient shrine-chapels hidden in ferny folds of towering rocks. And since the Reichsführer settled here as "Squire of Wachenfeld," the whole region has been starred with motor speedways, even as far as Oberammergau.

The colour scheme throughout this bright, airy chalet is a light jade green. In outside rooms, like the sun-parlour, chairs and tables are of white plaited cane. Here Hitler will read the home and foreign papers which his own air-pilot, Hansel Baur, brings him every day from Berlin before lunch.

At this altitude the Bavarian sun is at its most genial. Even at Christmas time when deep snows are out, Haus Wachenfield basks in warmth like the Engadine's. The effect of light and air in the house is heightened by the rolling and trilling of many Hartz mountain canaries in gilded cages which hang or stand in most of the rooms.

The curtains are of printed linen, or fine damask in the softer shades. The Führer is his own decorator, designer, and furnisher, as well as architect. He is constantly enlarging the place, building on new guest-annexes, and arranging in these his favourite antiques – chiefly German furniture of the eighteenth century, for which agents in Munich are on the look out.

It is a mistake to suppose that week-end guests are all, or even mainly, State officials. Hitler delights in the society of brilliant foreigners, especially painters, singers, and musicians. As host he is a droll raconteur; we all know how surprised were Mr. Lloyd George and his party when they accepted an invitation to Haus Wachenfield.

The guest bedrooms are hung with old engravings. But more interesting than any of these to the visitor are the Führer's own water-colour sketches. Time was when a hungry Hitler was glad to raise a few marks by selling these little works; none measure more than about eight inches square, and each is signed "A. Hitler" – unmistakably, if also illegibly!

The gardens are laid out simply enough. Lawns at different levels are planted with flowering shrubs, as well as roses and other blooms in due season. The Führer, I may add, has a passion for cut flowers in his home, as well as for music.

Every morning at nine he goes out for a walk with his gardeners about their day's work. These men, like the chaffeur and air-pilot, are not so much servants as local friends. A life-long vegetarian at table, Hitler's kitchen plots are both varied and heavy in produce. Even in his meatless diet Hitler is something of a gourmet – as Sir John Simon and Anthony Eden were surprised to note when they dined with him in the Presidial Palace at Berlin. His Bavarian chef, Herr Kannenberg, contrives an imposing array of vegetarian dishes, savoury and rich, pleasing to the eye as well as to the palate, and all conforming to the dietic standards which Hitler exacts. But at Haus Wachenfeld he keeps a generous table for guests of normal tastes. Here bons viveurs like Field Marshals Göring and von Blomberg, and Joachim von Ribbentrop will forgather at dinner. Elaborate dishes like Caneton à la presse and truite saumonée à la Monseigneur will then be served, with fine wines and liqueurs of von Ribbentrop's expert choosing. Cigars and cigarettes are duly lighted at this terrace feast – though Hitler himself never smokes, nor does he take alcohol in any form.

All visitors are shown their host's model kennels, where he breeds magnificent Alsatians. Some of his pedigree pets are allowed the run of the house, especially on days when Herr Hitler gives a "Fun Fair" to the local children. On such a day, when State affairs are over, the Squire himself, attended by some of his guests, will stroll through the woods into hamlets above and below. There rustics sit at cottage doors carving trinkets and toys in wood, ivory, and bone. It is then the little ones are invited to the house. Coffee, cakes, fruits, and sweets are laid for them on trestle tables in the grassy orchards. Then Frauen Goebbels and Göring, in dainty Bavarian dress, perform dances and folk-songs, while the bolder spirits are given joy-rides in Herr Hitler's private airplane.

Nor must I forget to mention the archery-butts at the back of the chalet. It is strange to watch the burly Field-Marshall Goring, as chief of the most formidable air force in Europe, taking a turn with the bow and arrow at straw targets of twenty-five yards range. There is as much to-do about those scarlet bulls'-eyes as though the fate of nations depended on a full score.

But I have said enough to convey the idea of a sunny sub-alpine home, hundreds of miles from Berlin's uproar, and set amid an unsophisticated peasantry of carvers and hunters. This is only a home in which Hitler can laugh and take his ease – or even "conduct tours" by means of the tripod telescope which he himself operates on the terrace for his visitors. "This place is mine," he says simply. "I built it with money that I earned." Then he takes you into his library, where you note that quite half the books are on history, painting, architecture, and music. When it is fine enough to dine in the open air, one sees a piano made ready for the after-dinner concert. Local talent will supply violin and cello for pieces by Mozart or Brahms. But at the piano itself it is always that English-speaking giant (he is 6 ft. 4 ins.) – Dr. Ernst ("Putzi") Hanfstaengl who presides as a composer of all-German renown.

Silent movies shot by Hitler's lover Eva Braun showed Hitler and his guests relaxing at the Berghof retreat and in 2006 computer lip reading software identified several parts of their conversations. Those who visited Berghof included Albert Speer, Heinrich Himmler, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Joseph Goebbels, Karl Wolff, and Reinhard Heydrich.^[1]

The first allied troops to arrive were U.S. 3rd Infantry Division who secured Berchtesgaden and the Berghof. They were followed four days later by the French 2nd Armoured Division who secured the Eagle's Nest, then 1st Battalion of the 506th A regiment, led by Company 'C'. The 3rd battalion of the 506th came into Berchtesgaden by a different route and lost men in a skirmish with the crews of two German 88 mm guns.

The Obersalzberg was bombed on 25 April 1945, twelve days before the surrender of German forces on 7 May. The Berghof was badly damaged and subsequently looted. The shell survived until 1952 when it was decided to demolish it so as to leave no focal point for future Nazi adherents.

3rd US ID and Leclerc 2ème DB's GTV (Groupement Tactique Vézinet) both reached Berchtesgaden on 4th May. Americans saw the place as their trophy and delayed Leclerc to allow 506th AB while actually 3rd ID entered first. A situation clearly stated to Leclerc by 3rd ID commander, General O'Daniel when they met on 4th May. Despite the strict interdiction, some vehicles were able to go trough the American barrage (2ème DB was US equipped). Yet they reached Berchtesgaden several hours after 7th regiment.

A French officer, Captain Touyeras of XI/64 RADB asked his superior authorization to travel to a railroad 1.5 km away from his position as it was the one he used after being prisoner in 1940. Colonel Guillebon gave him the authorization but warned him that he could got there as Americans were probably there. But Americans had made a confusion between Berchtesgaden and Berghof and the French officer took the opportunity and then became the first Allied soldier to reach Berghof along with his driver. The first Allied tank was Iena II (Crew : Sergent-chef Gaston Eve (tank commander), Philippe Bey-Rozet, Georges Dornois, Jean Brissé, André Beaufils). They were escorting a company of 3ème RMT. A second tank, Eylau, could not reach the place due to mechanical problem.

On 6th May, furious that French had taken the 'trophy', US General Millburn ordered Leclerc to leave the place. But it was not before 8th May that 2ème DB, soon followed by 3rd ID, turned the Berghof to 506th AB.

• Führer Headquarters
• Eva Braun
• Nazi architecture
• Man Hunt (1941 film), a Fritz Lang film set in 1939 about a hunter aiming at Hitler
• Operation Foxley, a British SOE plan to assassinate Hitler in 1944

• Wilson, James: Hitler's Alpine Retreat, Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, England. (2005) 271 photos of the Obersalzberg complex and biographies of leading Nazi figures. ISBN 1 84415 263 4

• "Berghof Visitors"
• "Dokumentation Obersalzberg" (A permanent exhibition on the history of Obersalzberg and the NS-Dictatorship prepared by the Institute of Contemporary History -IfZ -, Munich and Berlin)
• Chambermaid at Berghof - (in German) interesting pictures!
• Adolf Hitler's Home on the Obersalzberg, 1927-1945
• Berchtesgaden-Obersalzbert - Selected Bibliography
• Berchtesgaden Intercontinental Hotel(new hotel on Goering's former property)
• Don't Mention the War, The Sydney Morning Herald, Gary A Warner, August 18, 2006.
• Ruins of the Reich - DVD Video
• - in French
• - in French
• Kehlsteinhaus in Google Map

Coordinates: 47°38′01″N, 13°02′31″E

v • d • e Adolf Hitler
Politics	Political beliefs · Speeches · Mein Kampf · Zweites Buch · Last will and testament
Events	Rise to power · Third Reich · Holocaust · World War II · Death
Personal life	Family · Home · Medical health · Religious beliefs · Sexuality · Vegetarianism
Perceptions	Books · In popular culture · Der Sieg des Glaubens · Triumph of the Will · The Empty Mirror · Hitler: The Last Ten Days · Max · Der Untergang (Downfall) · Hitler: The Rise of Evil