Germany in 1950- Post 6

Daddy was fascinated by the way the traffic was directed - policemen with white gloves who were almost dancing. He took movies of them.


German traffic cop


German children


old couple


Mannheim street


American GIs with a German girl - the GIs had access to many things unavailable to the civilian population


Nuns


Pforzheim snack bar - July 2, 1950

Between 30 June and 16 July we visited a lot of places in Germany and Austria. In those days, Germany was divided into 4 sectors - English, American, French and Russian. The English, American and French sectors were given back to Germany. Russia kept the Russian sector which became East Germany. We went to Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe Palace


Karlsruhe statue

on the way to visiting the Bavarian area of Germany and Austria.

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.


Mountain views

It was about 75 miles southeast of Munich close to the border of Austria. Such sweeping mountain views attracted Adolf Hitler, who in 1923 stayed at the original Obersalzberg boarding house. He was so fond of the area that by 1928 he was renting a small chalet nearby. After he became Chancellor, Hitler began renovations – first a small office, then a winter garden, and finally in 1935-1936 the modest chalet was transformed into a sprawling building with a bowling alley in the cellar, and a giant window that could be lowered to provide a panoramic view. The house became known as the Berghof or Mountain Court in English.

There was also a building on the mountain top that was used for Nazi Party meetings called the Eagle’s Nest. Around Hitler’s home, several Nazi leaders such as Hermann Göring, Martin Bormann and Albert Speer built homes. The area evolved into a retreat for high-level Nazis with a cinema, a school for young children, an SS barracks, and an underground shooting range. Later security was increased and few outside Hitler's inner circle and his guards were allowed in the area.

The premises – except for the Eagle’s Nest – were heavily damaged by an Allied air raid on 25 April 1945. On 4 May, four days after Hitler’s suicide in Berlin, retreating SS troops set fire to the villa as Hitler had previously ordered. Obersalzberg was placed under US administration..



Eagles Nest entrance

Eagles Nest entrance – Sign says ROAD CLOSED to all private cars and pedestrians regardless of nationality. The Eagles Nest can only be visited in an authorized US Army vehicle operated by BRA Spec Service

We visited here in 1950 before the Bavarian government had a chance to clean up the site. We were only able to do this because my mother's friend 'Uncle' Bob was a colonel in the US Army. The SS barracks

Ruins of SS barracks

and Goebels house were still there.

Goebel's House


View from Eagles' Nest - Hitler's hideout


Window view from Eagle's Nest

One of the prized features of Hitler's Eagles Nest house was a huge picture window which could be lowered into the floor for an uninterrupted view to the north. The window was gone, but in 1950, we could see the same view as when the picture window was lowered.

Hitler's window - Bob Ware, Mom, my sister on the left and me on right corner

In 1952, all of the buildings were demolished so that they would not become a Nazi shrine. Over 50 buildings were destroyed.