Berghof Obersalzberg

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Geoff Walden
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Scots writer reveals unsung exploits of war-winning hero

#3916

Post by Geoff Walden » 21 Oct 2014, 18:39

Thanks for the pics, Chris!

Anyone else ever hear of this (below)? It's all new to me. I wonder when in May 1945 this raid was supposed to have taken place, as US and French troops arrived and took over on 4 May, and German troops were there up until shortly before then. I guess we never heard of this because it was "classified." :milwink:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home ... o.25607991

Dr Oscar Oeser, who was once based at St Andrews University, was a code-breaker during the war.

Under the command of James Bond author Ian Fleming, he went on to lead the raid that was vital to the intelligence war, and later headed a de-Nazification unit in Germany after VE Day.

The "unsung hero" was never able to tell people of his involvement in the war effort as most of his activities were classified at the time, with little information released after his death.

However, his undercover past has been brought to light thanks to another former St Andrews University academic - Alan Kennedy, now emeritus professor of psychology at Dundee University.

Mr Kennedy came across the name of Oscar Oeser - his former colleague and predecessor - while researching material for a novel to be set in wartime France.

Born in 1904 in Pretoria, South Africa, Mr Oeser was the eldest of three children of German-born Alfred Edward Oeser.

Oscar Oeser had achieved degrees in physics and maths before he was 21 and completed a doctorate in psychology at Marburg University in Germany, and a second doctorate at Cambridge.

He was one of the first to study the psychological effects of unemployment and led a three-year survey of Dundee's youth in the 1930s, reporting on their economic deprivation and the harsh treatment they received at school.

In 1940, Mr Oeser was recruited to work as a code breaker at the Bletchley Park intelligence centre. Bilingual in English and German, he became head of a section translating and interpreting deciphered German Air Force messages.

In May 1945 he was recruited by Fleming to lead a commando raid on Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" retreat in the mountains near Berchtesgaden, Germany, where several Lorenz cipher machines had been hidden.

Mr Oeser's raid captured seven tons of German cryptographic equipment. Among the haul was a top-secret machine known as the Russian Fish, used by the Germans to decode Soviet signals.

Mr Oeser brought this to Bletchley Park under conditions of great secrecy and it was used to intercept Russian signals during the early days of the Cold War.

From 1945 to 1946 Mr Oeser was in command of the British de-Nazification Bureau in Germany. He used psychological and psychiatric tests to weed out those people considered too dangerous to work in the new civil state in Germany.

He spent the rest of his life in Melbourne, Australia, where he was the founding head of the department of psychology.

Professor Kennedy said: "I was appointed to a lectureship in St Andrews in 1965 - the same post Oeser held 30 years earlier. Prior to that, I had been in Oeser's department in Melbourne.

"I got to know him quite well, but none of us knew much about his wartime exploits. Most of his activities were classified at that time and little was officially released until after his death in 1983.

"The details of his raid on Hitler's Eagle's Nest were only declassified a few years ago. His team was in fact the first allied force to reach the place.

"Few psychologists know about him now, but Oeser really was an unsung hero - an exceptionally clever man who helped win the war. And his post-war work in Germany also helped win the peace."

The extraordinary story is contained in Mr Kennedy's book Oscar & Lucy - An Autobiographical Biography, published by Lasserrade Press.

CPB
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3917

Post by CPB » 21 Oct 2014, 20:19

Wow Geoff, that's news to me.

Can that be true?


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tunix0
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Re: Scots writer reveals unsung exploits of war-winning hero

#3918

Post by tunix0 » 22 Oct 2014, 15:14

Geoff Walden wrote:Thanks for the pics, Chris!

Anyone else ever hear of this (below)? It's all new to me. I wonder when in May 1945 this raid was supposed to have taken place, as US and French troops arrived and took over on 4 May, and German troops were there up until shortly before then. I guess we never heard of this because it was "classified." :milwink:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home ... o.25607991
Very interesting article, Geoff!

On German television at the moment are often documentaries where it comes to secret operations. About the Bletchley Park is frequently reported. I think in the next few years we will learn more and more about processes in the background that were not previously known.
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PavelH
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3919

Post by PavelH » 22 Oct 2014, 22:55

"The details of his raid on Hitler's Eagle's Nest were only declassified a few years ago. His team was in fact the first allied force to reach the place.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
.....congratulation, however frankly I DON'T KNOW...... :(

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Geoff Walden
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Berchtesgaden Debates the Future of Obersalzberg Tourism

#3920

Post by Geoff Walden » 24 Oct 2014, 09:00

Very interesting reading ... evidence of the continuing conflicting ideas and emotions about tourists on the Obersalzberg. At least now, some of the authorities realize that the Dokumentation Obersalzberg is not enough for many tourists who visit and want to see the actual Obersalzberg ruins (including "non-sanitized" tunnels, shudder!), not just their small display. But there is still a lot of disagreement between those who think tourists should see only the display and those who realize that there is a lot more to see there. One comment I found amusing - a reporter for Spiegel pointed out that the hordes of students only visit that display because they have to, not because they are interested in the history.

In other news, the InterConti Resort Hotel will be sold next year to Kempinski. I assume this means the management, as the Bavarian government actually owns the hotel. Perhaps Kempinski can make the hotel profitable, although it has lost money every year since it opened (at least up to 2010).

Geoff

http://www.berchtesgadener-anzeiger.de/ ... 68633.html

http://www.berchtesgadener-anzeiger.de/ ... 68503.html

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Annelie
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3921

Post by Annelie » 24 Oct 2014, 15:37

InterConti Resort Hotel will be sold next year to Kempinski
There are people who will stay at the Kempinski just because of Karl Lagerfeld.
Lagerfeld has a following as they know his name implies luxury.
Lagerfeld also designed the interior of Hotel Adlon Kempinski.

For you guys who may no be into fashion he is one of the world's leading
fashion designers. :-)

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Obersalzberg Now & Then - Episodes 11 & 12

#3922

Post by Jeroen7 » 24 Oct 2014, 19:50

Why did you all talk about the Kehlsteinhaus these days? Did you already know my next episode would be about that house on the Kehlstein? The ones who remember episode 5 of last year maybe remember the big fog out there. So I desperately needed to do a remake. As a bonus for you all I just released two episodes of the Kehlsteinhaus. Episode 11 is about the German occupation and episode 12 the American one.

Well, now I have said that, an end has come to my Obersalzberg adventure. It was astonishing and I will never forget this beautiful place. Never say never, maybe I will come back, when I drive by from some other location.

But don't worry, it's just time to focus on some other regions now. After some short Now & Then about Graz (Austria) the next big production line is coming up: Nürnberg. I'm already looking forward in making these new episodes. I expect the first episode of Nürnberg online in December. When the first episode comes online I will drop a note here to the thread I will place the links.

Thanx again and happy weekend!

All episodes:
Episode 1: http://youtu.be/uEUgmhIvnj0 (The Berghof)
Episode 2: http://youtu.be/C_kbsXGGwLc (Berghof bunkes)
Episode 3: http://youtu.be/wX9KaKQbPew (Mooslahnerkopf)
Episode 4: http://youtu.be/6pnysjlORK8 (Gästehaus Hoher Göll)
Episode 5: http://youtu.be/vKVvDYYyMds (Kehlsteinhaus)
Episode 6: http://youtu.be/r9_2M13asK0 (Königssee/Obersee)
Episode 7: http://youtu.be/1hQgp1jSa-M (Kampfhäusl)
Episode 8: http://youtu.be/DmJ2ZEXl64A (Platterhof)
Episode 9: http://youtu.be/SZ-glen1ILg (Kaserne)
Episode 10: http://youtu.be/sUGhh5eEKmg (Gate houses)
Episode 11: http://youtu.be/v1N6h3VaMys (Kehlsteinhaus - German occupation)
Episode 12: http://youtu.be/ZeF4b-seRUQ (Kehlsteinhaus - Ammerican occupation)

Episode 11
YouTube: http://youtu.be/v1N6h3VaMys
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/109946468



Episode 12
YouTube: http://youtu.be/ZeF4b-seRUQ
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/109947170


Mannheim
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3923

Post by Mannheim » 24 Oct 2014, 22:54

I loved the Obersalzberg series and am really looking forward to Nurnberg.
Kein Irrtum ist so groß, der nicht seinen Zuhörer hat.

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Johnnyrocket
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3924

Post by Johnnyrocket » 27 Oct 2014, 16:41

FYI:
Auction of a beautiful Berghof photo album on "Hermann Historica:
http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion ... at67_r.txt

Johnny R.
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"Oberstrumfuhrer Mauersberg u." and "Untersturmfuhrer Schubach" at the Berghof
SS.jpg (95.29 KiB) Viewed 1359 times
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Annelie
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3925

Post by Annelie » 27 Oct 2014, 20:17

2500 Euros......pretty steep at least for me.

Would be nice if someone from the forums ended up with it and there
were some new and interesting photos.

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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3926

Post by Johnnyrocket » 27 Oct 2014, 20:22

What these items are demanding in prices—I can't imagine anyone affording this for a collection? This items are selling for some incredible prices. I've even seen bricks from the Berghof selling for big bucks from time to time.

Johnny R.
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3927

Post by Johnnyrocket » 27 Oct 2014, 20:25

Annelie wrote:2500 Euros......pretty steep at least for me.

Would be nice if someone from the forums ended up with it and there
were some new and interesting photos.

2500 euros equals about $3,200.00 in US dollars...OUCH! 8O
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—Sworn by oath to support and defend the "CONSTITUTION" of the United States against all enemies, "FOREIGN" and "DOMESTIC"!

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Geoff Walden
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3928

Post by Geoff Walden » 27 Oct 2014, 21:17

Johnnyrocket wrote:What these items are demanding in prices—I can't imagine anyone affording this for a collection? This items are selling for some incredible prices. I've even seen bricks from the Berghof selling for big bucks from time to time.
Johnny R.
And most of those "Berghof bricks" came from the fill at the top of the site, which came from several other OSB buildings, not from the Berghof. :lol:

Although there are genuine examples, how can anyone prove that any particular brick came from the Berghof? Like pieces of "Bormann's Tree." But you're so right ... these things generally sell very well. Thanks for posting the album link!

Geoff

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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3929

Post by Johnnyrocket » 27 Oct 2014, 21:26

Your so right Geoff.

When I think about it, the only sure way anyone can know 100% that anything is authentic is to be there at the actual event and only they know the whole truth. I guess personally knowing the authenticity of an item or event has its advantages.

What is left for the rest of us is the quality and perponderence of the evidence. :D

Wouldn't it be great if these items could talk—oh what a story they would tell us.

Just thinking. :)

Johnny R.
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• U.S. Army Vet.1969-'71—Spc.5 Field Artillery
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Re: Berghof Obersalzberg

#3930

Post by Annelie » 27 Oct 2014, 21:41

If the album was legit and probably is....are there any
really new and important photos that we haven't seen in film,
this forum ebay etc.

I bought some years ago an almost empty authentic album 1. /Artillerie=Regiment 66
Someone could easily buy an album and sell off the good photos and replace it
with easily found found ones. One could see in mine where there were some probably
really interesting photos but long gone by the time I bought it..still its pretty nice.

Another thought, perhaps the album came from an member and only wishes to sell
and make some money.......good luck :-)

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