Hitler's Berghof

"These were the best times of my life.
My great plans were forged here" - Adolf Hitler.

Berghof and the Alps

Hitler's retreat in the mountains of Bavaria was one of the most important centers of government in the Third Reich. Hitler spent more time in the Berghof, than in his Berlin office.

It was in this oversized chalet that Hitler planned the invasions of Poland, France and Russia and the firestorm that would cost the lives of millions.

Adolf Hitler's interest in the hills above Berchtesgaden began in 1923, when he came to visit his friend and mentor, Dietrich Eckart, who was living at the Platterhof Hotel. Hitler traveled there under the name of "Herr Wolf" and held meetings with supporters in local guesthouses.

After he was released from Landsberg prison in 1926, following his unsuccessful coup in Munich, he came back to the Obersalzberg.

He stayed in a small cabin (no longer there) on the mountain near the Platterhof. The remainder of Mein Kampf was written during his visit there.

Haus Wachenfeld

In 1928, Hitler rented a modest vacation home, Haus Wachenfeld, next door to the Hotel zum Türken.

Haus Wachenfeld

Hitler & Albert Speer

Haus Wachenfeld

The Berghof

Hitler and visitor, the Berghof

After becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler purchased the house from the money he had made from Mein Kampf and lived there for a couple of years before starting a major expansion of the building.

The result was a large, ostentatious mansion that he named "The Berghof", or "mountain farm".

After the bombing

The Berghof

A large area of the mountain was taken over by the Nazis and numerous buildings were built on the rolling farmland. (See Obersalzberg.) The neighbors for miles around were bought out, including families who had lived on the mountain for generations.

Hitler with Lloyd George

Those who refused to sell were forced out, including the owner of the Hotel zum Türken, who spent three weeks in Dachau before "agreeing" to sell.

In the photo at right, Hitler escorts former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George down the main staircase. The Hotel zum Türken is in the distance above.

Hitler Greets the Public

The Berghof became quite a tourist attraction. Crowds of admirers used to wait at the end of the driveway for a chance to greet the Führer. Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's official photographer, took lots of photos of these scenes.

Waiting fans

Hitler greeting fans

The SS guarding Hitler were stationed in the barracks further up the hill (now an open field with a Segway track for guests of the Intercontinental Berchtesgaden Resort). The SS withdrew just hours before the American soldiers arrived. Barracks Square, as it was called, was heavily damaged in the bombing; no traces are left now.

SS guarding Hitler	SS on a walk, Obersalzberg

Dogs and Children

Other favorite propaganda themes produced at the Berghof for public consumption were photos of Hitler with small children and Hitler with his dog.

Hitler and visitor	Hitler and Blondi

The little girl in the left photo was chosen from the crowd to visit the Führer and have a dish of strawberries. She became a favorite and visited frequently, until Martin Bormann discovered her grandmother was Jewish and tried to banish her from the Berghof. Hitler allowed her to continue visiting.

Blondi, the dog, met with a sad end when she was poisoned in the Führerbunker in Berlin just before Hitler' suicide.

Hitler the Architect

Since Hitler fancied himself an artist and had a great interest in architecture, he was heavily involved in the design and furnishing of his new home. The building and rooms were created in the monumental style favored by the Nazis and intended to impress.

The house was decorated with expensive Persian carpets, Gobelin tapestries and antique furniture, mainly 18th century German.

The Great Room was where Hitler received his important visitors. It was huge and had an enormous picture window that looked out at the view of the Untersberg mountain in Austria.The view from the Hotel zum Türken next door is almost the same one that Hitler had. Hitler's globe was in this room.

View of the Untersberg

View from Hotel zum Türken

Great Room

Great Room window

Through a gap in the mountains, Hitler could see Salzburg's castle. The large window could be lowered into the story below, leaving it open to the air.

Hitler told Albert Speer, architect and manager of Germany's state building projects, "Look at the Untersberg over there. It is not by chance that I have my seat across from it".

According to legend, Charlemagne is sleeping in a cave of ice on the Untersberg, deep inside the mountain. He is waiting for the time when he will be called back to save the Holy Roman Empire; or according to another version, until he is summoned for the final battle of good against evil at the end of the world.

Open window

Window after bombing

Dining room

Hitler's office

Entryway ruins

Entryway

Hitler's desk	Hitler & Hermann Goering

Eva Braun

Eva Braun

The German public was unaware of Eva Braun until after the war. From 1936 on, she spent most of her time at the Berghof.

She was kept in the background and not allowed to meet the visiting dignitaries or ministers. Her social life was limited to members of Hitler's inner circle, like Hermann Goering, Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann and Albert Speer, as well as her own friends and family.

Eva on the terrace

It can't have been a happy existence, even though she lived a life of luxury. She attempted suicide twice during her relationship with Hitler; at age 20, she shot herself in the neck, and a few years later she took an overdose of sleeping pills.


Her life ended with her suicide in the Reichschancellery bunker in Berlin on April 30, 1945, one day after becoming Frau Hitler.

The Berghof Today

When the war ended, the Berghof was damaged but mostly intact in spite of the heaving bombing raid on the Obersalzberg on April 25, 1945.

After the bombing

View from Bormann's house

In 1952, the Bavarian government blew it up, hoping to discourage tourists. Later, the rubble was carried away, leaving little more than the foundation walls along the back of the building.




Below are the remains of a structure to the rear of the building and a view from the area.



The forest has reclaimed this historic spot and only a small path leads through the trees to the location where the building used to be. The path starts from the road just below the Hotel zum Türken.

View of Türken from driveway

Path to Berghof

See additional photos: Berghof then and Berghof now.


More Wartime Photos

Hitler and Blondi

Hitler and Bormann

Himmler and Heydrich

Hitler and Geobbels

Hitler and Eva Braun

Hitler and Goering

Below, members of the 3rd Infantry Division celebrate with the contents of Hitler's wine cellar, on May 4, 1945. On the right, the stairs to Hitler's bunker.

American soldiers

Stairs to Hitler's bunker