Obersalzberg – From the Alpine Village to the Führer's Off-limits Area: Eyewitness Reports

Jan 31, 2022 | Obersalzberg had been Adolf Hitler's vacation domicile since 1923. During the National Socialist era, the mountain ridge above Berchtesgaden became the second seat of government of the Nazi regime. With historical footage and interviews with contemporary witnesses, the film documents the expulsion of the local population and the transformation of the old village into the "Führersperrgebiet" (Führer's Restricted Area) with large buildings such as Hitler's Berghof and the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle’s Nest). Former neighbors tell how Hitler lived in the Wachenfeld house in the 1920s and wrote "Mein Kampf." While they had to sell their houses after 1933, Hitler enjoyed life on Obersalzberg with Eva Braun, received state guests such as Benito Mussolini and led the Second World War from here. It was not until April 1945 that the "Führersperrgebiet" was partially destroyed in an air raid.

The exhibition film by journalist and book author Ulrich Chaussy was shown in the Dokumentation Obersalzberg from 1999 to 2021. The film was slightly edited for the online version.

Sources:
Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 609 20", Quelle: Bundesarchiv, Bestand Film: K-72204
Obersalzberg, Quelle: Bundesarchiv, Bestand Film: 27462-1


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