why was "Eagles Nest" not destroyed?
ms
I am curious why the Eagles Nest was not bombed like other such sites.
(This was built by Martin Borman as a gift to Hitler, but he allegedly did not
like the place much. It would cost zillions to build today, and is now a
cafeteria).
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Rich Rostrom
>Hitler's summer house in Berchtesgaden was destroyed at the end of WW2.
>I am curious why the Eagles Nest was not bombed like other such sites.
Hitler's residence at Berchtesgaden was bombed at the end of the war.
In _Crusade in Europe_ Eisenhower admits to gloating over pictures
of the destruction.
But the "Eagle's Nest" itself was a small target, at the top of a
mountain and somewhat removed from the rest of the complex. It
would have been a difficult target. It could have been strafed
at close range, but this would be risky for the attacking planes,
which would be flying among mountain peaks.
>This was built by Martin Borman as a gift to Hitler,
Bormann was overseer for the entire Berchtesgaden project,
but the actual construction was executed by Fritz Todt,
the Nazis' chief construction expert. Todt also built the
autobahns and the Westwall.
> but he allegedly did not like the place much.
Speer wrote that Hitler only visited the place a few times.
--
Never consume legumes before transacting whatsoever | Rich Rostrom
even in the outermost courtyard of a descendant of |
Timur the Terrible. | rrostrom@dummy
--- Avram Davidson, _Dr. Bhumbo Singh_ | 21stcentury.net
--
ArtKramr
>>Hitler's summer house in Berchtesgaden was destroyed at the end of WW2. I am
curious why the Eagles Nest was not bombed like other such sites.
I was there. It was bombed. My initials (AK) are cut into the into the
green
marble over the fireplace along with the initials of many other
American
soldiers and can be clearly seen there to this day.
Arthur Kramer
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer
John Halliwell
<rros...@21stcentury.net> writes
>But the "Eagle's Nest" itself was a small target, at the top of a
>mountain and somewhat removed from the rest of the complex. It
>would have been a difficult target.
I think it was certainly picked as a target, and may have been bombed.
It was covered with cloud during one RAF bomber raid, and they had to
move to another target in the complex which they could aim at. By this
time it was late in the war and possibly just before the area was
overrun by the Allies.
--
John
Preston, Lancs, UK.
--
ms
>I think it was certainly picked as a target, and may have been bombed.
>It was covered with cloud during one RAF bomber raid, and they had to
>move to another target in the complex which they could aim at. By this
>time it was late in the war and possibly just before the area was
>overrun by the Allies.
>
it seems to be in remarkably good condition if it was bombed....
--
John Halliwell
<lav...@cygnus.uwa.edu> writes
>it seems to be in remarkably good condition if it was bombed....
I didn't say they ever hit it! Seriously a small target on top of a
mountain, possibly everything covered with snow, poor weather and
dangerous terrain would make it hard to find, let alone bomb. Other
parts of the complex were easier to find and more useful targets.
ArtKramr
We blew the roof off it and caved in some of the walss. When I arrived
there,
there was no roof and the place was covered with stone rubbke and
smashed
glass. They did a lot of restoration work over the years and attempted
to hide
all signs of the bombings. In fact one tour guide said it was never
bombed. But
I straightened her out in no uncertain terms..
Cub Driver
It might be useful to remember that Hitler's quarters on the
Obersalzberg, and the Eagle's Nest lookout on the Kehlstein, were two
different things. As I recall, he didn't particularly like the Eagle's
Nest. He thought the road was dangerous and the elevator (150 feet
through the rock) frightening.
all the best -- Dan Ford (email: info AT danford.net)
see the Warbird's Forum at http://www.danford.net
Vietnam | Flying Tigers | Pacific War | Brewster Buffalo | Piper Cub
Al Brennan
soc.history.war.world-war-ii with:
>
>It might be useful to remember that Hitler's quarters on the
>Obersalzberg, and the Eagle's Nest lookout on the Kehlstein, were two
>different things. As I recall, he didn't particularly like the Eagle's
>Nest. He thought the road was dangerous and the elevator (150 feet
>through the rock) frightening.
Apparently, both the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) and the Berghof are
on the Obersalzberg, above Berchtesgaden; Kehlstein is not a separate
mountain. Indications are that the Berghof was bombed and destroyed,
and the Kehlsteinhaus was missed. Confusion between the two buildings
is rampant on the web; for instance, a hotel and golf course are
planned to be built on the site of the destroyed Berghof, but one site
describes it as being built on the site of the "Eagle's Nest." Some
of the confusion probably results from both sites being called
alternately "Eagle's Nest" and simply "Obersalzberg."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/07/03/whit03.xml
http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_1201/ob/ob02.html
I've found a web site that details a trek of the 225th AAA Searchlight
Battalion to the Kehlsteinhaus in July 1945. The photos of the
exterior and interior of the building show no damage at all, and the
photo of the dining room shows not a chair out of place.
http://www.skylighters.org/photos/tours/
(These photos were undoubtedly taken before the documented looting and
vandalism of the Kehlsteinhaus that followed the war, and one of the
photos indicate the vandalism to come by showing a sign inviting the
troops to take home a brick from the building as a souvenir.)
Other web sites note that allied bombing raids missed the
Kehlsteinhaus, and some indicate that it was spared demolition after
the war because of appeals made by Karl Theodor Jacob, a Bavarian
politician. The best reference to the building itself that I have dug
up is this one:
http://www.kehlsteinhaus.com/
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