Hitler's Alpine Retreat

Adolf Hitler became 'completely captivated' by Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg when he first visited the area in 1923. In time he bought Haus Wachenfeld and made the area his second seat of government. This meant major construction of the Berghof barracks, administrative buildings, airstrips and the famous 'Eagle's Nest'. During the war massive tunnels were dug. Most was destroyed by allied bombing in April 1945. This original book tells the story of the area and how it was transformed by Hitler and his henchmen (Goering, Goebbels and Borman) in words and, most significantly, contemporary postcards and photographs.

The Germans had no equals at ferociously exploiting new methods of reaching the general population with their political message. The humble postcard became in the 1930's a powerful tool for winning the hearts and minds of the German people. In this unique book James Wilson demonstrates, using 270 original German postcards from his personal collection, how Hitler's obsession with the beautiful and normally peaceful Bavarian mountain area of Berchtesgadener Land was used to project a powerful but totally misleading image of this regime. Haus Wachenfeld, the simple Alpine cottage purchased by Hitler in 1933, evolved to become the Berghof, the Southern headquarters of the Third Reich, and second only to Berlin in terms of importance. Hitler's Alpine Retreat offers an extraordinary atmospheric opportunity to view the landscape, buildings (mostly now long disappeared) and close associates of the Fuhrer. Each of the superb contemporary images records a unique moment of history which would otherwise have been lost forever.

James Wilson
Hardcover 224 pages 2005