Berghof Obersalzberg

[Geoff Walden]

Hi all,

Here is a graphic representation of what Florian meant and what you all stated. The photo and that little doorway were actually in the old Haus Wachenfeld part, that part of which was completely changed when the Berghof was built (1935-36). Also a still from 1945 US Army film of a GI guard at the tunnel entrance. It's amazing to think that whole area in the retaining wall where the doorway was (is) is under fill dirt today.
During air raid drills, Hitler would stand at the top of those steps and hurry his house staff and personal staff through the door and down the 65 marble (!) steps to the lower tunnels and rooms, while he himself stayed at the top, hardly ever going all the way down.

[Br. James]

Yes, this is what I generally had in mind, Geoff, though I thought there was a door in the back wall of the Berghof (new) section of the house, along the main hallway before it turned toward the Haus Wachenfeld section, as well as in that area of the old construction...?? Am I making any sense at all?! It seems to me that there must have been at least one doorway leading out of the main house to the walkway against the rear retaining wall which afforded access to the Berghof Tunnel Complex. On the schematic you provide above, which shows the floorplan as it was after the major construction was completed in 1936 but before the later extension and further renovations of the later '30s, we see what appear to be two doorways exiting the hallway behind the dining room which permitted waiter access from the kitchen to the Great Hall and elsewhere on the main level, without having to go through the dining room itself.

Always a pleasure to chat with you, my friend!

Br. James

[Mannheim]

Thanks, Geoff! That is exactly the photo (of the guard) I was looking for. It's what made me realise I had the wrong lobby. Hope all is well!

[Max]

http://www.christianengl.de/obersalzberg.shtml

[Geoff Walden]

Yes, this is what I generally had in mind, Geoff, though I thought there was a door in the back wall of the Berghof (new) section of the house, along the main hallway before it turned toward the Haus Wachenfeld section, as well as in that area of the old construction...?? Am I making any sense at all?! It seems to me that there must have been at least one doorway leading out of the main house to the walkway against the rear retaining wall which afforded access to the Berghof Tunnel Complex. On the schematic you provide above, which shows the floorplan as it was after the major construction was completed in 1936 but before the later extension and further renovations of the later '30s, we see what appear to be two doorways exiting the hallway behind the dining room which permitted waiter access from the kitchen to the Great Hall and elsewhere on the main level, without having to go through the dining room itself.
Always a pleasure to chat with you, my friend!
Br. James

Greetings, my friend!
Above I used a repro of the plans, because the originals are not always that clear. But here is a crop of that view from the original plans, and also a view of the back side from the plans, showing no doors on the back side of the main building. We can see that small door in question in the old part. I believe that even after the 1938 extension, there were no doors in the back, except maybe at the cellar level (but I haven't seen any actual plans from the 1938 additions).
Geoff

[headwest]

I was wondering if any of the old Haus wachenfeld was still left in the NEW part of the berghof that they added onto it? when I look at pics or these plans it seems the one half was left pretty intact? and that it was sort of cut in half and that the original rooms on the one side kept were left as is? but were any of the old room layouts kept in the new addition?

Interesting to me that most people with the means tear down old homes on land they buy to build what they really want, It seems to me, Hitler must have loved the original but obviously wanted this new large home so he decided to do both? i've always wondered his reasoning? was it because of a true love of the original house? or did he want to be able to say it was still the original smaller country home but with an addition ? i know this is all speculative but the house sort of reminds me of alot of his decisions.

[Geoff Walden]

The old Haus Wachenfeld structure was mostly retained within the Berghof; that is, the rooms were mostly retained beneath the Berghof roof that covered both the new structure and the old. But the rooms were mostly changed during the remodeling, at least the rooms on the ground floor, for which we have some before-and-after photos. I don't know about the upper rooms, one of which was Hitler's original bedroom. The Wintergarten (front room) was changed the least. The main room ("Wohnzimmer") got a make-over with new furniture, doors, wainscotting, and decorations, and the new Kachelofen with tiles painted by Sofie Stork. Of the back rooms, one was retained for storage and one was eliminated and replaced by the back corridor that connected to the Berghof, and with that door that went out to the tunnel entrance. The staircase that led up to the upper floors and the tiny cellar was retained.

I'm sure Hitler retained most of the Haus Wachenfeld structure - if not actually the style - because of his fondness for his original house. After the Berghof was built, he really couldn't claim there was much similarity to the old mountain country house, except maybe the balconies. What was left of Haus Wachenfeld was certainly overshadowed by the Berghof.

[headwest]

Thank you Geoff! As always you are an amazing amount of great info.

I always come into these threads not knowing much and leaving knowing a ton of new and great info!

[vartaz]

Does that mean that the entry door with the Marvel steps exist still in the reatining Wall but beneath the dirt?

[Geoff Walden]

Yes, the door is still under there. Here is what it looks like from the inside (this photo is from 1976, but it reportedly still looks the same, except red bricks have been put all the way up to the top of the opening). The steps going down into the tunnel are still there as well.

[vartaz]

Is there no Way to access that bunker? Could you persuade the zum tyrken owner to break the Wall and look through ?

[Duane Becker]

Sorry to break this thread a little of the last couple of topic posts, but I just finished reading "He Was My Chief", memoirs of Christa Schroeder, Hitler's long time secretary, toward the end of the book, she begins with her journey back to the Berghof from Berlin. I thought the book went into some detail on the day of April 25, 1945, bombing day. Pretty interesting read. Imagine being on the Obersalzberg that very morning just before the bombing. Please let me quote from her book a few sentences, page 187,

"Wednesday 25 April 1945 was a sunny spring day with a cloudless sky. I had booked an appointment for 1000 with Bernhardt hairdressers in the Platterhof hotel. There was a acute danger of air attack but I decided to ignore it and stay in bed. In recent days aircraft had overflown the Berghof but not bombed. Towards 0930 the early warning alarm sounded. Straight away the sirens howled and at once American bombers * (*The planes were actually from the RAF, 617 Squadron) appeared over the Hohe Goll mountain and dropped bombs. One exploded nearby. I grabbed my handbag and coat and ran into Johnna Wolf's room, telling her to get to cover quickly. Without waiting I ran down the steps of the old building, or rather I flew down under the air pressure, to the bunker entrance only a few meters across the courtyard where sixty steps led down into the refuge. The second bomb fell at the side of the old house where our rooms were located and destroyed the stairway.. Probably nobody had seriously considered that the Berghof would ever be attacked, and thus all were taken by surprise and many tumbled into the bunker only half dressed.
A half hour later the second wave arrived. The major attack on the Berghof began. The bombs rained down, many directly on the bunker. The explosions echoed eerily against the rocky mountainside. At each hit I ducked involuntarily. The technical installations of the bunker, so highly praised as secure stopped working. The lighting and ventilation failed, and water began to enter the bunker by way of the steps. We feared that Frau Fegelein, who was within a week or so of giving birth, would miscarry. The chaos and fear were indescribable.
We left the bunker eventually at about 1430, slowly plodding up the sixy steps into the daylight. A picture of appalling destruction greeted us. The Berghof had been badly damaged. The walls still stood (only one side had been burst open) but the metal roof hung in ribbons. Doors and windows had disappeared. Inside the house the floor was thickly covered with debris and much of the furniture had been demolished. All the ancillary buildings had been destroyed. the paths scrambled to rubble, tress felled at the root. Nothing green remained, the scene was a crater landscape."


I'll stop for now, but just imagine and try to place your mind back on that day at the Obersalzberg, nice beautiful sunny blue skies!
Incredible!
Christa Schroeder goes on to mention the fact that when the locals heard the news of AH's demise, they stormed the Obersalzberg and Berghof carrying off many many things...

[Geoff Walden]

Great info, Duane, thanks! Christa Schroeder's book is indeed full of great info about the life of Hitler's inner circle.

Does anyone know where I can get a high-res version of this photo, to be able to zoom in on details? (This is the less commonly seen of the two photos like this ... or are there more than two?). Thanks!

[Ernie Primeau]

Does anyone know where I can get a high-res version of this photo, to be able to zoom in on details? (This is the less commonly seen of the two photos like this ... or are there more than two?). Thanks!

Hi Geoff,

Hope this one is big enough.

[Geoff Walden]

Thanks very much, Ernie! MUCH better than what I had!
Geoff