Obersalzberg
Martin Bormann's House
Reichsleiter Martin
Bormann took over an existing house owned by a local doctor named Seitz. This house
site was ideal for Bormann, as it overlooked Hitler's Berghof and much of the rest of the
Obersalzberg complex. From here, Bormann could keep an eye on everything, including the
comings and goings at the Berghof. Bormann later enlarged and modernized the house,
installing costly interior furnishings. Bormann also had an extensive air
raid shelter and bunker system
built into the hill behind the house, connecting to the main air raid control and
communications center underground. The April 1945 bombing attack substantially destroyed
the house. The ruins were completely razed in 1951-52, with only scattered rubble to be
found today in the woods that have overgrown the site (the bunker system is intact, but
closed to the public).
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Bormann's house as seen from the
Hotel zum Türken. The
hillside across from the Türken is overgrown today. The small stone
structure at the lower right was a guard house at a gate across the road
(see here). |
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Bormann's house in the early 1940s.
In contrast to many of the Obersalzberg buildings, photos of Bormann's
house are uncommon, because he gave orders that it was not to be photographed.
(period postcard, from an Ernst Baumann photo) |
In this photo from Eva Braun's
albums, Bormann's house can be seen on the hill overlooking the Hotel
Zum Türken. (National Archives RG 242-EB) |
This view shows how Bormann's house
overlooked the Hotel Zum Türken just below,
and also Hitler's Berghof (just beyond the Türken). Bormann had a private
swimming
pool, seen here at the left. (period postcard)
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The
winter view at left was taken by Nazi photographer Ernst Baumann. The
photo on the right, taken from a similar vantage point, shows the ruins
of Bormann's house ca. 1950. (author's collection) |
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A colorized postcard
view of Haus Bormann, with the Untersberg mountains behind. |
Bormann's house after the 1945
bombing - a photo
taken by my father, Lt. Delbert Walden, in 1946. (collection of G.R. and G.A. Walden) |
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The
photo on the left shows the appearance of Bormann's house right after
the American occupation in May 1945. The photo on the right, in common
with the ruins photos above, shows the house later, after the tin roof
had been plundered. (left - private collection; right - "Historische Blitzlichter vom
Obersalzberg") |
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These
rare color slides show the ruins of Bormann's house ca. 1950. The
postcard view on the right below, from the same period, also shows the
Berghof ruins in the distance to the right of Bormann's house, with the
Platterhof garage ruins in the distance on the left side. Just to the
right and below the Bormann house ruin is the rebuilt Hotel zum
Türken. (color slides by
Col. John J. Tarsitano, courtesy Nancy Tarsitano Drake) |
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A soldier of the U.S. 45th Infantry
Division took this photo (left) in the summer of 1945. He was standing in the Berghof
driveway, looking past the Hotel zum Türken to the bombed-out ruin of Bormann's
house on the hill beyond. The ruined house at the left edge was Unterwurflehen,
part of the administrative headquarters of the Obersalzberg. The 1930s painting on the
right shows the Unterwurflehen house (as seen from Bormann's house),
across the road from the Hotel zum Türken. The only ruins that remain
today of Unterwurflehen are parts of the foundation (see here).
(photo
courtesy Frank Tompkins; painting in the Hotel zum Türken collection) |
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Examples of
miscellaneous rubble pieces of Bormann's house, which can be found today downhill from the house
site. The entrance to a nearby tunnel system (on the right) is closed off by rubble
several yards inside. See the Bunkers page
for photos of the interior of this tunnel. |
Hermann Göring's House
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring's house was one of the few not forcibly
(more-or-less) taken over from previous owners. It was a gift from the Nazi Party in 1933.
It began as a small rustic mountain lodge, but Göring later (1941) enlarged it to about
double its original size, and even added a large outdoor swimming pool, lined with blue
tile. In spite of the enlargement, the house retained somewhat the character of a mountain
lodge, with rocks on the shingle roof (a common sight in Upper Bavaria - the rocks hold
snow on the roof, for added insulation, and to keep the snow from sliding off
abruptly), and interior decor in line with Göring's
passions for hunting and the outdoor life. Göring had his own underground
shelter system in case of air attack,
but Bormann would not allow it to be connected to his own, and thus to the main
system (click here to see a modern photo
of the emergency exit to Göring's tunnel).
The 1945 bombing attack severely damaged the house, and the ruins were razed in 1951-52.
For several years parts of the foundation and an entrance to the basement
shelter could still be
seen, but these were removed after the Armed Forces Recreation Center left the
area in late 1995. In 2002-2005 a luxury hotel was built on the hilltop
overlooking the site of Göring's house,
radically changing this area, and the only traces of
Landhaus Göring that can be found now are some
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These
period postcard views show Landhaus Göring before it was renovated and
enlarged in 1941. |
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Landhaus Göring after its final
renovation, with the Untersberg mountains in the background. The view from Göring's
house was the best of any of the Obersalzberg Third Reich homes. (period
postcard) |
Similar view of Göring's house
after the 1945 bombing - a photo taken by my father, Lt. Delbert Walden, in 1946. (collection
of G.R. and G.A. Walden) |
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These
period views show the rustic chalet character of Landhaus Göring.
(period postcards) |
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On the
left, Hitler visits while Göring practices
archery. The small wooded rise in the left background was called the
"Hermann Hill," and was a comfortable relaxation area with
tables and chairs beneath the trees. The only remains of Göring's house that
can be found today are these stone steps on the back side of the small
hill (below left), and at the other end of the property, off view to the
right in the modern photo above (below right). (Heinrich Hoffmann, "Hitler in seinen
Bergen," Berlin, 1935) |
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These
views of the interior of Göring's Obersalzberg house show the rustic
(albeit fancy rustic) character of the house, including tile Kachelofen
heaters. (author's collection) |
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Göring's house from the adjacent
hill, the highest point
on the Obersalzberg. This photo shows Göring's swimming pool. On the right
is a similar view of the site of
Göring's house, taken in 2001 before the construction of the hotel on the
hilltop. The circular water filled depressions in the center and right
foreground are bomb craters remaining from the April 1945 attack. The hotel
construction has radically changed this site - the view below from a similar perspective was
taken after the hotel construction. Göring's house sat where
the pond is now, to the right of the walkway, in front of the treeline. (Library
of
Congress) |
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These
photos of the ruins of Landhaus Göring show the site in the early 1950s,
before the ruins were razed. The swimming pool was by then overgrown and
choked with weeds. The photo below shows a large piece of the blue glazed tile
that once lined the swimming pool (this tile piece and others have disappeared
due to the hotel construction). (above left - courtesy
Clarke Family Archives; above right - courtesy Chris Munz) |
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The view
on the left was taken by a G.I. in May or June of 1945, and shows the
front of the house before it was stripped by plunderers for building
materials. This same side can be seen at the left of the other photo,
with the roof and much of the other wood stripped away. Below are two
views of the ruins in the summer of 1945. (left -
private collection; right - postwar postcard by Ernst Baumann; U.S.
National Archives, Signal Corps Collection) |
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This aerial reconnaissance photo taken
in early May1945 shows how bombs bracketed Landhaus
Göring, hitting both ends of the pool and damaging the house itself. (U.S.
National Archives)
Summer 2002 -
Summer 2005 note -- A large luxury hotel has been built adjacent to the site of Landhaus
Göring,
covering the top of the Göringhügl hill. This hotel has, unfortunately, radically
changed the landscape
and views in this area.
Much of the Göringhügl hill was bulldozed away in June
2002, removing most of the former remains in this area.
(As of 2015, this hotel is managed
by the Kempinski Hotel group.)
Aerial view of the InterContinental
Resort Hotel on the top of the former
Eckerbichl hill.
Göring's house was located in the distance along the woodline, in the area now
occupied
by an ornamental pond. (2006 photo courtesy Frans Beekmans)
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A site adjacent to
Göring's house, but also associated with Hitler, was the tall hill that separated
Göring's property from most of the rest of the Obersalzberg complex. This hill formed the
base for the greenhouse on the other side, and later sheltered the bunker systems of
Bormann, Göring, and the anti-aircraft defense center. It was the highest point on the
Obersalzberg, and was generally called the "Göringhügl."
But at an earlier time, before Bormann had transformed the area and when the Berghof was
still Haus Wachenfeld, this was "Adolf Hitler-Höhe," complete with a
commemorative rock monument at the top. The period view shows the original Pension Moritz
(Platterhof) in the left distance, with bare meadows of the Bodnerlehen in between, where
the SS Barracks complex would later be built. This area is all wooded now, but a match can
be made with the mountains (the ruins of the demolished Platterhof can be seen in the
modern view; this view no longer exists today due to the new hotel
construction). The rock monument had plaques reading
"Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler-Höhe, 21 März 1933" (date of the opening of the
first Reichstag under Hitler as Chancellor), and a saying by poet Ludwig Ganghofer:
"Wer Gott lieb hat, lässt er fallen, in's Berchtesgad'ner Land" (He whom God
loves, He lets him fall into Berchtesgadener Land). Below, a child poses at
the rock monument. (period postcards in author's
collection) |
Under new management - soldiers of the U.S. 3rd
Infantry Division raise the Stars and Stripes on the "Göringhügl" on
5 May 1945. The soldiers raising the flag are Pvt. Bennet A. Walter and PFC Nick Urich, 7th
Infantry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo, National Archives)
Unfortunately, this historic spot no
longer exists, as the top of this hill has been bulldozed away for the
InterContinental Hotel.
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On 5 May
2008, the 63rd anniversary, veterans from the 3rd Infantry Division
raised the Stars and Stripes once more on the former "Göringhügl,"
when they dedicated a plaque to this historic occasion, near the
InterContinental Hotel. The three 1945 veterans who attended were Ross
Brown, Robert Dutil, and John Miller. Click here
for more information on the ceremony. (photos courtesy Tony
McKinney) |
For further information, including Internet links, check
the Bibliography page.
Continue to other Obersalzberg sites - Hitler's
Berghof, Platterhof, 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 Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg
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