Berghof Obersalzberg

[headwest]

Hi All

still plowing thru this huge post, so interesting to see it evolve over the years.

One question i havent come across, or pictures thereof

- Are there any pics of the inside of the berghof in the years it stood bombed out and empty? I would think someone would have gone in and taken pics of alot of the rooms, hallways, etc. I knwo the movie was filmed in it and there are a bunch in 1945, but wonder around say 1950 as it stood vacant?

thanks!

[Geoff Walden]

Hi headwest,

Yes, there were many photos taken inside the Berghof ruins from 1945-52 ... by Allied soldiers, their families, journalists, etc. My father took some when he visited in the spring of 1946. A lot of these photos of the ruined interior are in this thread in various places. You can also find some here http://www.thirdreichruins.com/berghof.htm and here http://www.thirdreichruins.com/obersalzberg.htm . Most of these photos were taken inside the Great Room - the focal point for visitors. Fewer were taken upstairs or in other rooms, but there are some photos taken in the ruins of Hitler's office and the hallway outside, the main corridor downstairs, the dining hall, and even the kitchen.

I am not aware of any interior photos taken during the period between the bombing and the Allied occupation - only the Allied aerial photos taken just after the bombing, which show the Haus Wachenfeld wing more-or-less intact (this wooden part was all burned away on 4 May 1945). There might be some interior shots from this period on Harry von Gebhardt's page (Google).

You also asked a little earlier what was Hitler's last day at the Berghof ... Hitler left the Berghof on 14 July 1944 for the Wolfschanze, never to return to the Berghof.

Geoff

[headwest]

Hi Geoff

thanks so much for the answer and help, your website is an incredible resource and one I have visited often.

I think it would have been interesting to see inside before the SS fired the building but after the bombing. I think i read here the SS burning did more damage than the bombing did so i have often wondered what was left intact and what the inside must have been like, in terms of what was still in there furnishings, books, clothes, etc.

I have also wondered if those who were there when it was bombed came out, did they try and clean things up? rebuild at all? or where the SS troops there then and told to send them away because they knew they were going to set fire to the rest?

the biggest quetion I have is - who gave the order to fire the house? was Hitler notified of the bombing and damage and he gave the order? did he ever find out?

thanks all!

[Steve Hoog]

Wonderful news today, I found out Herr Misch's book is finally available in English! Since I was ordering it, I pulled the trigger on Geoff's as well.

I need more books to read like I need a hole in my head; but maybe I can get through them before my time is up.

[Annelie]

Really?

Where Steve? I would certainly like to order it also.

Okay, found it at amazon.com of course.....thanks for the heads up. Pre ordered it.

[Steve Hoog]

I am also getting a serious itch to return to Obersalzberg...... will see how things play out for next May.

[Annelie]

That makes two of us Steve.......

[Geoff Walden]

Thanks for the news, Steve, I'll order one right away.

[Johnnyrocket]

Eva at the Ping-Pong table/Berghof.

Eva at the Berghof.jpg (267.03 KiB) Viewed 858 times

[Annelie]

Strange, I was just looking again at Harry von Gebhardt's photo collection on google
of Berghof.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10978183072 ... 4590960368

few there I don't remember seeing before....one looks like the big window on a truck.

Eva sure was lean but then most people in those days were in better shape.

[Timo-T]

Hi Johnnyrocket, a nice picture!

[Johnnyrocket]

New view from after the bombing.

Ober S. 1945.jpg (339.64 KiB) Viewed 853 times

[Timo-T]

A great view of the Bormannhaus!

[Biber]

Strange, I was just looking again at Harry von Gebhardt's photo collection on google
of Berghof.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10978183072 ... 4590960368

few there I don't remember seeing before....one looks like the big window on a truck.

Eva sure was lean but then most people in those days were in better shape.

Thank you for reminding me to visit that site. I usually spend an afternoon there every six months or so. Seems I see new stuff every time I visit. Simply amazing photos, especially the candid ones of AH!

[Geoff Walden]

Eva at the Ping-Pong table/Berghof.

Judging from her bathing suit and hair style, I believe that's Else von Möllendorff, an actress friend of EB's who was frequently filmed and photographed at the Berghof. This is the woman I used to call the "mystery woman," but who was identifed by Pierre Commault last year.

Geoff