Berchtesgaden National Park - The Nazi Documentation Centre and the Eagles Nest.

Written By Nomadic Frames
 

Berchtesgaden is a town in Germany , an affluent community of Bavarians populated with traditional style buildings , costume and a proud culture. It does of course have a sinister history as being the heart land of the German Socialist Workers Party, or the Nazi Party as more often referred.

Helen and I have never visited a historically significant WW11 location outside of the UK, and while both very interested in history, Helen is passionate about Tudor History especially , we do enjoy visiting places where history can be felt. We stood in Nelson Mandela’s cell ( a personal hero of mine) on Robben Island Cape Town, the Coliseum in Rome and the immigration inspection centre on Ellis Island New York, it’s the best way to sense the reality of those times in a way that I never could from thumbing through the volumes of Cry Freedom or other literature. The sense of expectation and fear of separation or worse still permeates the walls of these places and sense of human distress was palpable.

But this was a little different , was this glorifying mass murder through some macabre sense of interest in the dark side of humanity? . I studied Political History at University and I’m firmly of the view that failing to engage with history is to risk making the same mistakes and we must never the permit conspiracy theorists the pleasure the rewriting of history and airbrushing the facts. I ought at this point before going any further to explain why Mandela is such a hero of mine. He chose truth and reconciliation over vengeance and death , reunification of humanity over the less attractive options , a true leader.

Returning to Berchtesgaden we based ourselves at a camp site on the outskirts of the town at the foot of the Obersalzberg, a mountain on which Hitler and his henchmen had occupied houses and ‘relocated’ residents and business to create a safe area protected by SS soldiers. The most famous residencies on the mountain are the Hitlers residence the Berghof, and the mountaintop Kehlsteinhaus , which we know as the Eagles Nest. However Hermann Göring, Martin Bormann and Albert Speer , all senior Nazi Party members, had homes here.

The Nazi’s built a network of tunnels under these properties , where in theory at least the remnants of the Nazi Party could hold out as a last resort against an overwhelming enemy. Underneath the mountain the Nazi’s built a network of tunnels with entrances to the senior leaders properties which could be defended against a raiding enemy. At this time due to Allied and Soviet advances, their victory seemed assured . The Nazi plans were dashed however when most of the buildings, except for the Eagles Nest, heavily damaged by an RAF air raid on 25 April 1945.

Today the German Government have built the Dokumentationszentrum Obersalzberg , a center for study, remembrance & debates on National Socialism, with permanent & temporary exhibits.

This the link the relevant website https://www.obersalzberg.de/en/home/

The Eagles Nest

The Eagles Nest

The National Documentation Centre

Most of the houses on the Obersalzberg occupied by Nazi Party members where flatten as the area came under American Administration to prevent right wing groups treating it with a false reverence, however this was not an attempt to whitewash the areas involvement with German Socialism. They have built - The National Documentation Centre where Nazi Party documents are held and the centre can be toured. Be aware however they hold nothing back and some of the images on display are graphically disturbing. Hence the reason I didn’t take many pictures inside the centre.

The Centre also provides access to the tunnels under the mountain and although some areas were damaged in the bombing raid you have to accept this was a significant piece of engineering for which the Nazi’s used force labour , mainly Czech workers and prisoners to complete in a very short space of time.

The National Documentation Centre - Obersalzberg

The National Documentation Centre - Obersalzberg

The Eagles Nest

The Kehlsteinhaus , to use its German name survived destruction and the truth is that Hitler didn’t use it that much , despite it being built as present for him in 1937, it cost 12 lives in the building due to its difficult location. Hitler was reportedly afraid of heights and the weather , as we found , was not always conducive to viewing the scenery. He used it occasionally as a Diplomatic Reception House. It was used regularly however by Eva Braun.

You cannot make your way to the Eagles Nest directly , but by boarding a bus as the only way to reach the entry tunnel which leads to a stunningly ornate lift with ascends 407 feet to the top. These days it is a battle for officials to keep the lift serviceable . The lift is adorned with polished brass , venetian mirrors and green leather.

Once inside, the fireplace donated by Mussolini dominates the room , minus large chips where US soldiers took pieces are war trophies.

Today the Eagles Nest is a hospitality centre but hosts tours of people interested in the location which is beautiful on the mountain top, however for us it was a misty day. If you follow any of our travel blogs or Vlogs you will see this regularly happens to us but on this occasion other things took centre stage. I took a picture of Helen in a passage way and turned around to see an image of Hitler sat in the same location with little change decor wise. I have been close to evil before , but this was a new level. I am referring to the two photographs on the left of the second row above.

Saltzburg

From the Campsite , in fact literally 250 yds from the campsite we caught a bus into Austria to Saltzburg, Helen had always been a Sound of Music Fan and wanted to stand on the Do - Re - Mi steps. The You Tube link below is a collection of photographs take from one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If you enjoy it please subscribe to our channel.

This is a perfect area for a motorhome or caravan trip , beautiful scenery mountains and lakes , quaint towns, history , great beer in the Bavaria Brauhaus and typical traditional German food. The proximity to Salzburg is the icing on the cake.

Nomadic Frames

We photograph and document where humans engage with their individual environment , hoping to distinguish between human variance across nations and culture.

https://www.nomadicframes.co.uk/
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