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Further Berchtesgaden Area
Sites
The quaint mountain village of Oberau, northeast of the Obersalzberg, was the location of two Third Reich
facilities.
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period view shows a small barracks complex for the SS, built in the
Vochenbichl area of Oberau. These wooden buildings were taken over by
the U.S. Army in 1945, and were used for several years to house
Displaced Persons (refugees). They were torn down several years ago, but
foundation remains can be seen near the Oberau Sportplatz. (MapQuest
Map Link) |
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This building, now the Gasthof Auerwirt
in Oberau, was remodeled in 1937 as a home
for the Hitler Jugend.
Hitler himself made a large contribution toward the reconstruction. (MapQuest
Map Link)
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Königssee
Area Sites
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The beautiful
mountain lake Königssee, south of Berchtesgaden, was a favorite destination for Hitler and Eva Braun
on a sunny summer day. In
this 1938 view, a Nazi flag can be seen in front of the famous Hotel Schiffmeister. (period
postcard in author's collection) (MapQuest
Map Link) |
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south end of lake Königssee, separated by a narrow isthmus of land, is
the Obersee (this was likely once all one lake, with the isthmus the
result of an avalanche sometime in the past). Adolf Hitler visited the
Obersee on at least two occasions, for photo opportunities. The views
above show a visit in 1933. The rock just behind Hitler is easily
identifiable today, although the lake level is now a few feet
higher. (left - period postcard; right -
Cigaretten-Bilderdienst Altona-Bahrenfeld, "Kampf um's Dritte Reich"
(1933) (MapQuest
Map Link) |
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another occasion Hitler visited in uniform. He posed on another rock
just to the right of the rock seen in the earlier views. This rock is
also surrounded by water today. (Heinrich Hoffmann,
"Hitler in seinen Bergen," Munich, 1938) |
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| Reichsmarschall
Hermann Göring, an avid hunter and outdoorsman, had a special hunting
lodge built in the Roth area in the mountains surrounding the Obersee.
The lodge was torn down after the war and the site is difficult to visit
today, reachable only by way of a long hike and climb into the
mountains. However, the approximate site can be seen from the Königssee
boat landing at Salet - the landing for the Obersee path - the site was below the distinctive
notch in the mountains that can be seen in the distance (the actual site
is not visible from here - it was on the other side of the wooded ridge
seen in the modern photo). |
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Hintersee
Sites
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Hintersee is an alpine lake to the west of Berchtesgaden, surrounded by
the "Magic Forest" (Zauberwald) - a favorite hiking
area today. In May 1945 the Hintersee area became the final command post
of the Berchtesgaden/Obersalzberg Nazi leadership. On the left above is the Altes Zollhaus or old Customs House.
This is the last building on the road leading to the border with Austria
at Hirschbichl (closed to
private vehicles). It was bought in 1939 by Fritz Todt, main engineer of
Hitler's Autobahn system and later Armaments Minister during the war.
Todt's family lived here during the war, which is why Todt has a
cenotaph in the Berchtesgaden Bergfriedhof
cemetery. The building on the right above is the Altes Forsthaus
or forestry headquarters, up the road from the Todt house (toward the
lake). In early May 1945 Hans Lammers, chief of the
southern Reichskanzlei,
moved his staff here. One of Hitler's armored Mercedes cars was found
here by soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division. (MapQuest
Map Link) |
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hotel seen on the left above is the Gasthof Alpenhof (sometimes referred
to as "Bartels," after the owner). Adjutant Albert Bormann
moved his operations here following the destruction of the Obersalzberg
in late April 1945. Others of the staff who had moved from Berlin to the
Obersalzberg around 22 April 1945 also ended up here, including Adjutant
Julius Schaub and secretary Christa Schroeder. On the right above is the
Hotel Post, which was used in earlier times to house various dignitaries
visiting the Nazi hierarchy on the Obersalzberg. These two buildings are
located directly on the Hintersee lake, with outstanding views of the
surrounding mountains. The Hotel Post is now a youth hostel operated
by the YMCA. (MapQuest
Map Link) |
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| Hitler
relaxes on the terrace of the Hotel Post with his press chief Otto
Dietrich. (Henrich Hoffmann, "Hitler in seinen
Bergen," Munich, 1938) |
Bad
Reichenhall Area Sites
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A military
barracks complex was built in Bad Reichenhall, north of Berchtesgaden. This was the
Gebirgs-Artillerie-Kaserne (for mountain artillery troops), also called the
Ritter-von-Tutschek-Kaserne. It is now called the
General-Konrad-Kaserne (for Ritterkreuzträger and General der Gebirgstruppe
Rudolf Konrad), and the swastika below the eagle at the corner of the building has been
changed to an edelweiss flower. (from period postcards; photo below-right from a private collection)
(MapQuest
Map Link) |
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The
period soldier paintings no longer appear on this building down the street,
at another gate to the barracks. The 1940-dated postcard view shows the
site when it was called Mackensen-Kaserne. (period
postcard in author's collection; my thanks to Torben Behrens for info about
this site) |
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Kleßheim Palace near Salzburg,
Austria
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The
early 18th century Kleßheim Palace near Salzburg, Austria, was used by
the Nazis to house high-ranking visitors to Hitler's Berghof, including
German Foreign
Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, Italian leader Benito Mussolini and his
Foreign Minister Graf Ciano, Romanian president Antonescu, Slovakian
president Tiso, Admiral Miklós Horthy of Hungary, and
others. It was occupied by the U.S. Army after the war - the period photo
above shows the band of the 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division,
parading in review in May 1945. The victors have put up a 3rd I.D.
insignia over the main doorway, but German camouflage netting still
remains on much of the building (dark areas in the photo). The entrance
gate to the complex was rebuilt in 1942, with two large eagles added, but
these eagles never had swastikas. The palace now houses the Salzburg
Casino. (Donald G. Taggart, "History of the Third Infantry
Division in World War II," Washington, Infantry Journal Press,
1947) (MapQuest
Map Link) |
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 Continue to the Obersalzberg sites - Hitler's
Berghof, Bormann's and Göring's houses, Platterhof, Gästehaus and Kampfhäusl, Hotel Zum Türken,
Gutshof and Teehaus,
Kehlsteinhaus, SS barracks, bunker system, miscellaneous Obersalzberg
buildings.
Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
For further information, including Internet links, check
the Bibliography page.
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