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On a coach holiday, in the mid 1950's, my family did happen to drive past the entrance drive to Hitler's house. The coach didn't stop and it was very much a case of "Keep going, nothing to see here.".
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Last edited by Flying10uk; 05-22-2020 at 08:15 PM.
Sad thing is that was far from true. NOW, there's very little left of the town, the SS barracks are gone and much has disappeared. Then V/S now, no comparison, that's without watching the vid. I was never posted to Germany, all of my friends seem to have visited there during their postings and have the pics.
In 1995, after the fall of the Soviet Union and troop reductions in Europe the US Army decided to close the Berchtesgaden AFRC and turn the Obersalzberg over to the Germans. We spent millions of dollars getting the facilities ready for the turn over. When we handed the keys to the Germans the facilities were in top-notch condition. Still, the Germans wanted nothing to do with the place and all the buildings stood empty for a few years, including the grand old General Walker. Then one year the Germans ‘forgot’ to winterize the plumbing and steam heat system in the hotel. During a particularly cold winter pipes froze and burst all over the hotel. The Germans declared the hotel uninhabitable, tore it down and turned the location into a parking lot. In addition to knocking down the General Walker the German government went after all the remaining ruins on the mountain, to include the last remnants of the Berghof. Any remaining ruins were completely bulldozed and the rubble hauled away. The Germans simply did not want any visible reminders of the Nazi era left on the mountain.
Many fond memories of the General Walker and other AFRC hotels and restaurants during our 1981-1984 FRG tour. We also camped at various AFRC campgrounds in our VW Vanagon. The biggest challenge was to align our leaves as my late wife and I were both active duty Army. Also, many fun road trips throughout Europe. Fortunately, my wife's degree was in German.
Probably the highlight of our tour was when we visited Normandy with my Mom and Dad. My Dad was an infantry squad leader in the 29th Infantry Division and landed at Normandy in the second wave as I recall. Quite the history lesson never heard by me before or after!
I was able to visit there in '71. Me and a few friend actually found an opening into some of the underground passage ways. All tile lined.Main doors chained close.
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Real shame he wasn't taken out by the two snipers could have saved thousands of allied lives and brought the war to an earlier end!! That and the Satchell bomb at the Wolfs Lair put down by the great officer Claus von Stauffenberg!!
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
Real shame he wasn't taken out by the two snipers could have saved thousands of allied lives and brought the war to an earlier end!!
Or it might not have?
Wasn't there the fear on Churchill's part, that by '42/43 the view was Hitler was doing such a good job of loosing the war that getting rid of him, might mean someone that knew what they were doing would take over, and prolong the war?
Wasn't that one of the driving forces in taking out Heydrich in '42, and the chance of him taking over from the mad Corporal if anything happened to him?
I went hunting Mouflon up in that area a couple of years ago. a friend of mine lives just over the Austrian border in Glanegg. Its a picturesque part of the world thats a fact.
I have always though the destruction of historical sites, even if associated with bad things is a mistake.
I understand the Germans do not want the NAZI sites to become shrines for neo-NAZIs, but frankly that has never been an issue the last 75 years, despite the ever present various neo NAZI themed film villains. That they are convenient bad guys no objects to really shows what a small threat they are. Never met a German pro NAZI in my life. So there is no reason not to preserve such sites, or so it seems to me.
Said another way, no one will say they are a NAZI today and retain any respect, while Communists, Marxists and other equally totalitarians are seen as legit, especially on most college campuses. As a history buff I wish I could see these sites and the Berlin fuhrer bunker, not as a homage but simply to see what I have read about. Same way I like to see southern monuments here at various battle sites, does not mean I buy into southern civil war beliefs.
But not being a German it is their decision to make, not mine. Still would like to see Seelow heights on the Oder and the Russian established museum there. That said it is time for the Germans to get off their knees, tell those trying to morally disarm them to drink a cup of shut the F--K up and take some pride in their land, people and history (good and bad) before it all slips away.
PM
Originally Posted by Flying10uk
