Obersalzberg
Platterhof Hotel
The Platterhof hotel has a long
and interesting history ... alas, this history is now over, as most of the
buildings were demolished in 2000. It began as an Obersalzberg estate called the
Steinhauslehen. Mauritia "Moritz" Mayer bought it in 1877 and later opened the
Pension Moritz. Moritz Mayer enjoyed considerable local fame, and after her death, the
pension became known as the "Platterhof," because Moritz was widely assumed to
have inspired the character of "Judith Platter" in Richard Voss' novel Zwei
Menschen (Two People).
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The postcard of Pension Moritz
on the left was found in the Nazi Archives, captured by the
U.S. Army at the end of the war. On the right is a 1937 postcard view of
"Judith Platter" with her horses. (left - National Archives Record Group 260NS,
5650/10; right - author's collection) |
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Views of Pension
Moritz in the early 1900s (top and center) and the 1930s (bottom). Compare to the
later 1930s and 1940s views below. (period postcards in author's collection) |
After the Nazis took over the
Obersalzberg, the original Platterhof was remodeled, and a large multi-wing hotel erected
around the original building, still known as the Platterhof. This was supposed to be a
national people's hotel, where the common people of the Third Reich could stay when
visiting their Führer, but in keeping with Martin Bormann's increased seclusion of the
area around Hitler's Berghof, the Platterhof never served that purpose. Indeed, as with
much of Bormann's other construction, it ended up being an expensive luxurious monument,
totally unsuitable for the common people. Instead, it served high-ranking Nazi dignitaries
and other important visitors. In 1943, necessities of war turned the Platterhof into a
military hospital and rest home. The complex included a large multi-story garage building,
with quarters on the upper floors for hotel staff.
The bombing attack of 25 April
1945 did considerable damage to the Platterhof. It was not destroyed, but it stood
derelict for several years. However, it escaped the 1952 destruction of Nazi buildings,
and was rebuilt and renovated by the U.S. Army as the Hotel General Walker, as part of the
Armed Forces Recreation Center. After return to the German government in 1995 its fate was
unclear, but it was torn down, along with the ruins of the garage, in 2000. Sadly,
plundering such had not been seen since 1945 was allowed to happen. Some of the
furnishings in the Platterhof were original to the wartime building (furniture,
chandeliers, decorative fittings), and other original furnishings from the Kehlsteinhaus
and other area buildings had been placed there by the AFRC. According to local sources,
before the authorities knew what was happening, most of these priceless items were
allegedly plundered by the demolition crews, and apparently little or nothing has been
recovered.
Only a
side building and the rear terraces were spared from destruction (this side building
- the Terrassen Halle - is
visible in the postcard view on the right below; the building appears at the lower left
corner; this building was enlarged and used as a restaurant by the U.S. Army AFRC, the
"Skyline Room"). The hotel site has been turned into a parking lot for the
Dokumentation Obersalzberg center and the Kehlsteinhaus bus ticket office.
(MapQuest
Map Link)
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Platterhof complex in the 1940s.
The closest building was a post office and employee store (see below). In the right distance can be
seen the buildings of the SS barracks compound. |
Postcard brought back from Germany
in 1946 by my father, Lt. Delbert Walden. This view shows the Gästehaus
Hoher Göll in the left distance. (collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden) |
Few views exist of the post office and
employee store building. The building was badly damaged in the 1945 bombing
attack.
This view was taken by French forces in May 1945. Note the camouflage paint
pattern that was applied to many Obersalzberg buildings late in the war.
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Street
side views of the Platterhof, during a winter in the 1930s, and after its use by the Americans as the General Walker Hotel,
before its destruction in 2000. (period
postcard in author's collection) |
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Rarely seen views of the Platterhof
complex from the road leading toward the Hintereck, looking toward the Reiteralpe mountains.
The extension of the building at the front, toward the street (on the
left side in these views) was called the
"Bergschenke." This dining area provided a cozy atmosphere and was
popular as a pub. (period postcards in author's
collection) |
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Reception Hall
(left) in the Platterhof.
The main registration desk is to the right. On the right, the grand dining hall in the
Platterhof. (left - National Archives, RG 260-NSA-21; right - collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden) |
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Left -
the large "Kaffeehalle" in
the Platterhof in the 1940s. Right - the interior of the Platterhof
"Bergschenke." This hall, which can be seen jutting out from the side of
the Platterhof closest to the adjacent road, was a popular pub for the Obersalzberg SS
guard force. (left - period postcard; right - National Archives, RG 260-NSA-22) |
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Dietrich-Eckart-Zimmer. This
Platterhof parlor was dedicated to the memory of Hitler's mentor Dietrich Eckart, who
spent much of his last years in the Pension Moritz. His bust was displayed
on the wall. (National Archives, RG
260-NSA-32) |
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The "Bauernstube" or
Farmers Parlor, a Platterhof room decorated in a more rustic style. Note the
date 1671 that can be faintly seen on the ceiling cross beam - this part
of the building had been built around the old Steinhauslehen (see note below).
(author's collection) |
A guest room in the Platterhof,
decorated in a rustic Alpine style. (National Archives, RG 260-NSA-35) |
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Interior hallway in
the Platterhof. |
"Zirbenzimmer,"
paneled in decorative pine. (period postcard) |
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On the Platterhof veranda, looking
toward the mountains to the northwest. (National Archives, RG 260-NSA-31) |
Looking out onto the
Platterhof terraces. (period postcard) |
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Two
private photos from 1942 showing SS guards escorting female guests on a
visit to the Platterhof. (author's collection) |
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Two views
of this same side of the Platterhof, from May 1945, immediately following the Allied occupation of the
Obersalzberg. On the left, a G.I. inspects a bomb crater near the
Platterhof. The photo on the right extends this same viewpoint further to
the right. Note the camouflage netting hanging off the roofs. (left - from "Yank, The Army Weekly;" right -
author's collection) |
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Views of the Platterhof from the
latter 1940s, following American takeover of the Obersalzberg.
Note the camouflage patterns applied to the roofs and walls - a futile attempt to disguise
the buildings from aerial attack (Hitler's Berghof was similarly camouflaged -
that on the roofs was probably netting).
After the renovation into the General Walker Hotel, an extension was added
onto the near side of the Terrassenhalle (seen at left, with the large
windows). (left - U.S.
Army photo; right - author's collection) |
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Further views of the Platterhof
taken in the late 1940s, before the building was repaired for use as the General Walker Hotel.
In the foreground of the photo below-right are the ruins of the post office and shop building, yet to be
torn down. (courtesy Thomas Schell, www.ostwallinfo.de) |
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On the left is a photo from
early 1950, showing the inner courtyard before the Hotel General Walker
was opened. Camouflage painting still appears on the wall. (See the
bottom of this page for another interesting view of the fountain.) The postcard
at the right shows the hotel in 1955. (author's collection) |
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The
Terrassenhalle ca. 1947, and today. Following renovation the U.S. Army
used this as the "Skyline Room" restaurant. It survived the destruction of the General Walker
Hotel in 2000, and has been
reopened as a restaurant. (private collection) |
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Another
view of the
Terrassenhalle in the late 1940s, seen from the street side, with a
corresponding view today. (private collection) |
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1950s views of the
General Walker Hotel. The view on the left is earlier, showing the "Skyline
Room" restaurant (building on the left), before the U.S. Army added the extension
that can be seen at the far left in the right-hand view, and in the color views
below. (postcards in author's
collection) |
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1960s views of the
General Walker Hotel. (left - photo by Col. John J. Tarsitano,
courtesy Nancy Tarsitano Drake; right - author's
collection) |
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The General Walker Hotel as it
appeared in 1981, with the Untersberg mountains behind. |
Similar view taken in 1999, before
all these buildings were torn down in 2000. |
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Since late 2000 the site looks like this. The main buildings
have all been demolished, leaving
the Platterhofhügel hill visible behind (the original Bodnerbichl). The site is
now a parking lot. |
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Remains of the
Platterhof in 2001. On the left, the Large Terrace Hall later used by the U.S. Army as the
"Skyline Room" restaurant. Rumor says this building was left standing because it
was built by the U.S. Army, even though it shows plainly in pre-1945 photos (the Americans
did add an extension onto the side of the building). Next, original brickwork and
porcelain tiles in the basement remains. Last, a relic of history that remains at the site
- these dates of 1854 and 1591 are cut into a stairway wall. They are said to be
blocks from
original Obersalzberg buildings that had been torn down, and incorporated into the rebuilt Platterhof.
Another such relic was found in the deserted Platterhof, ca. 1999 - an
original wooden beam from the Steinhauslehen, which had been used in the "Bauernstube"
room, and later covered with plaster during American occupation. The
presence of this beam (if nothing else!) should, by German law, have saved
the Platterhof from destruction under historic sites protection and
preservation. Indeed, thick stone walls found during the destruction
indicated that an entire part of the original Steinhauslehen building had
been preserved when the original Platterhof was built. Sadly, the historic preservation clauses of German law are
being ignored on the Obersalzberg, and this beam and the surrounding
building have now been destroyed. |
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The
Platterhof / General Walker Hotel, then and now. The modern photo shows a lot of
empty space, where the main hotel building used to be. All that is now
left from these former views are the arcades (now a
souvenir shop; even the original stone staircase is now gone). (ca. 1960 postcard in author's collection) |
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Above
left - Platterhof garage, with
staff quarters on the upper two floors. Right - GIs stroll past the
ruins of the Platterhof garage in the summer of 1945. Below - Platterhof
garage ruin in the foreground, with the ruins of the SS Kaserne in the
center and the greenhouse on the slope beyond. (National Archives, RG
242-HB, RG 342-FH-3A20800, RG 111SC; below right - author's collection) |
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The ruins of the Platterhof garage as
they appeared when captured by the 3rd Infantry Division in May 1945.
(Donald G. Taggart, ed.,
"History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II," Washington,
Infantry Journal Press, 1947)
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These photos, taken from the
same vantage point but about 10 years apart, show the Platterhof complex
from the east. In the foreground is the garage and staff quarters
building, with the hotel itself behind. The majestic Watzmann and
Hochkalter mountains rise in the distance. The color photo at bottom
shows a similar view taken in May 2000, before the razing of the hotel
was completed. (original photos by
photographer Ernst Baumann; author's collection) |
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The garage ruin as seen in the
late 1940s. (private collection) |
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Views of the Platterhof garage ruin in the early
1960s. On the left, the ruins of the greenhouse can be seen in the right
distance. (photos
by Col. John J. Tarsitano, courtesy Nancy Tarsitano Drake) |
Ruins of the Platterhof garage in 1976.
The roofing had been removed since the 1960s.
(courtesy Gerald Stephenson)
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Ruins of the garage in 1981. The
upper two floors and side wing of the post-bombing ruin were removed in the late 1970s |
Interior of the garage in 1981.
The interior was
actually in quite good shape in the early 1980s. |
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Ruins of the garage in 1984 (left)
and 1988. (courtesy David Dionne) |
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Ruins of the Platterhof
garage in 1999. Compared to the 1980s photos above, one can see that the
ruins continued to be stripped (particularly the marble window casings) in
the intervening period. |
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The garage ruins were torn down in
2000, leaving only the rear retaining wall (and there is said to be a basement
still
beneath). A new building was erected here in 2002 to serve as the
Kehlsteinhaus bus ticket office. |
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A
memorial stone was erected to Moritz Mayer on the hillside above the
Platterhof, across the road from the Terrassen Halle. Rocks were piled
into a natural monument, and a space was chiseled out for a memorial
plaque with poems by Moritz's friends Peter Rosegger and Richard Voss
(close-up of the wording below). The Gedenkstein still exists but
the plaque is long gone. (Bruno Büchner, "Gebirgskurhaus
Pension Moritz," Obersalzberg, n.d., ca. 1929; Magdalene Ziemke and
A. Helm, "Moritz Mayer," Berchtesgaden, 1930) |
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Artist's view of the Atlas Fountain in
place at the Platterhof, from architect Roderich Fick's plans
for the Platterhof. (Munich Technical University (TUM)
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Another
type of relic associated with the Platterhof and other Obersalzberg
buildings, which can still be found in the area today, is pieces of the
camouflage netting that was put on many of the buildings, in a futile
effort to shield them from aerial reconnaissance. This netting, which
can be seen hanging off the roof of the Platterhof in the 1945 photo,
consisted of plastic strips of various shades of green and brown,
bundled and attached to wire netting. The netting has largely disappeared, but the
bundles of plastic strips can still be found around several of the
building sites. |
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The aerial view on the
left above shows part of the SS
Kaserne and the entrance to the road leading to the Kehlsteinhaus.
Of interest in this photo is the camouflage netting hanging down from
support poles - in use, netting covered the SS Kaserne buildings and
much of the surrounding open area. On the right is a closer view of some
of the poles for the camouflage netting. On the
left below is a view of the west side of the Berghof after American occupation
- some of the camouflage netting can be seen hanging down (the structure
at center is a Moll-System
guard bunker). On some parts of the Obersalzberg,
more-or-less intact pieces of the original netting can still be found -
below is an example with much of the wire netting still intact. (above
left
- U.S. National Archives; above right - Chester Fox collection; below
left - "Yank, the Army Weekly," 22 June 1945) |
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An elaborate air raid
shelter tunnel system was built beneath the hillside behind the Platterhof;
click here for photos and
information.
For further information, including Internet links, check
the Bibliography page.
Continue to other Obersalzberg sites - Hitler's
Berghof, Bormann's and Göring's houses, Gästehaus and Kampfhäusl,
Hotel Zum Türken, bunker system, Kehlsteinhaus, SS barracks, Gutshof and Teehaus,
SS guard houses,
miscellaneous buildings, other miscellaneous
area buildings.
Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
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My guide
book to Third Reich sites in the Berchtesgaden and Obersalzberg area has
been published by Fonthill Media.
"Hitler's
Berchtesgaden" is available at Amazon and other retailers (the
Kindle version is also available from Amazon). |
Guided Tours
For personal guided tours in
English of Third Reich sites in Berchtesgaden and on the Obersalzberg (and other
local sites) from a certified and accredited local tour guide, contact:
Tom Lewis
+49-(0)1602-641-800
atobersalzberg@sky.com
BEGAFILM
- Historic Films About Berechtesgaden and the Obersalzberg
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