The Eagles Nest, Day 6, 6-10-19

When planning this trip, there were several things on our to do list. 1. Dinner with J.C., Jenny, Todd and Susan at the Fraundorfer. 2. Go to the Zugspitz. 3. Visit Neuchwanstein, 4. Go to Vipiteno, Italy for wine, spaghetti and gelato 5. Drive through Brenner Pass. 6. Visit Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest. June 10th was our last day in Innsbruck and it is time to complete the mission.
After breakfast we began our two hour drive to Obersalzberg. This small community had the misfortune of attracting the interest of Adolf Hitler. This is the location of Adolph Hitler's favorite vacation retreat. He first rented a cabin there and then later bought a place. As Hitler grew in power and popularity through the '20's, other members of the Nazi party wanted places there. The final result was the displacement of a whole community. Residents who sold out early, received favorable financial terms and moved on. Those that chose not to sell ended up losing everything. They sold at a reduced price and faced being placed in a concentration camp. These were people whose ancestors had lived there from 300 to 400 years... a sad chapter in the history of the 3rd Reich. A military compound was erected in Obersalzberg and it served as a planning area for early campaigns in the '30's, as Hitler made his plans to attack Poland.
On April 22, 1945 there was a massive bombing raid of the Hitler compound by the RAF. Over 400 Halifax bombers destroyed almost every structure above ground in Obersalzberg. After the end of WWII the former inhabitants sought to return home, but that was not to happen. The area was largely a part of the recreation area for the US Armed Forces in the post-war period. The US released this property back to the Bavarian government in 1996. The documentation center was set up in 1999. This tells the history of the Nazi party and the Salzberg community.
A part of Hitler's community was the Eagle's Nest.... a mountain top retreat, that was given to Hitler as a birthday present from Martin Bormann. The building, the Kehlsteinhaus, or commonly known as the Eagle's Nest, was not damaged during the war. As it stands today, it stood in WWII. The original intent of the British bombing raid was to destroy this building. Everything down below was damaged, the Eagle's Nest was not.. So this is how we spent the day. We visited the Documentation Center and went of to the Eagle's Nest....a walk through history and a better understanding of the rise of the Nazi party.