Berghof Berchtesgaden May 1945. These unedited colour shots show the ruins of Hitler’s Berghof in May 1945. Film length 6:48. A licence fee of 14 x 30 seconds is charged to purchase a licence for the complete film. V 190223
Berghof Berchtesgaden May 1945
Description
Berghof Berchtesgaden May 1945
Historical background
The Berghof am Obersalzberg was built in 1916 as the Wachenfeld country house for a North German merchant. From 1928, the country house was Hitler’s rented holiday home. After coming to power in 1933, he bought it and had it gradually extended, first by architect Alois Degano and then by Roderich Fick, into the Berghof, his prestigious residence.
It then formed the centre of the Führer’s restricted area Obersalzberg, which became a central place of power in the National Socialist German Reich with the construction of the “Little Reich Chancellery” in 1937 and the Reichenhall-Berchtesgaden airport as the second seat of government. In total, Hitler spent around a third of his reign at the Berghof. International diplomats and politicians came to the Berghof for negotiations.
The building was badly damaged by an RAF air raid in April 1945. At the beginning of May 1945, French and American troops reached Berchtesgaden and the Berghof. The film was shot in mid-May 1945.
