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"From Haus Wachenfeld to
the Berghof"
Adolf Hitler's Home on the
Obersalzberg, 1927-1945
Part 1 -- Haus
Wachenfeld, 1927-1936
"Haus Wachenfeld" was
built in 1916 for a banker named Winter, as a vacation cottage (his wife's maiden name was
Wachenfeld). It was a modest house, with only one large room and a kitchen on the main
floor. Through his half-sister Angela Raubal, Hitler rented this house in 1927 for 100
Reichsmarks per month (some sources say in 1928), and he secured the rights to purchase it
in 1932. He bought the house in June 1933 for 40,000 Goldmarks. After his election as
Reichskanzler he commissioned architect Alois Degano to remodel the house, first with a
sunroom added to the front (where there had been only an open front porch), a garage with
a terrace on top, and additional out-buildings (later the Berghof Adjutancy).
The major
modifications were completed in mid-1933, with further small changes in 1934. The extensive second remodeling, which
resulted in the Berghof, was carried out by Degano in 1936.
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Haus Wachenfeld ca. 1927, as it
appeared when Hitler first rented it. (Hoffmann Photo Collection,
Bavarian State Archives) |
Haus Wachenfeld ca.
1934, after
the first reconstruction; showing the added garage and terrace, and enclosed sunroom.
(period postcard in author's collection) |
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Hitler poses at Haus
Wachenfeld ca. 1932, before the first reconstruction. Left to right: Erich
Kempka, Hitler, Bruno Gesche. (Hoffmann Photo Collection,
Bavarian State Archives) |
Haus Wachenfeld in
1933 during the first reconstruction, showing the enclosed sunroom
(Wintergarten) being added.
(period postcard in author's collection) |
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Haus Wachenfeld, west side, ca.
1933. Facing the camera are, left-right, Wilhelm Brückner (Hitler's
personal adjutant), Julius Schreck (Hitler's driver, in dark suit),
Hitler, and Julius Schaub (personal adjutant). (postcard in author's collection) |
West side of Haus Wachenfeld,
after the garage, terrace, and sunroom were added. (postcard in author's
collection) |
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The
rare view on the left, from an undated postcard, shows the side of Haus
Wachenfeld before the initial modifications. The similar perspective on
the right shows the house after the garage, sunroom, and terrace were
added. (postcards in author's collection - right dated 1934) |
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| Views of Haus Wachenfeld
after the first reconstruction. The views at left and center were taken from the
Hotel zum Türken, and show the Reiteralpe mountains in the
background (from period postcards in author's collection) |
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An aerial view
and colorized postcard view of Haus Wachenfeld after the 1933
modifications. The building on the right would
later become the Berghof Adjutancy. ("Obersalzberg
Bilddokumentation," Plenk, 1976; period postcard) |
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More
views of Haus Wachenfeld, 1933-1936. The view on the right shows the Kneifelspitze hill in
the center, with the Untersberg mountains behind. (left - postcard in author's
collection; right - colorized version of photo from "Adolf Hitler, Bilder aus dem
Leben des Führers," Altona, 1936, (author's collection) |
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Two
views of the west side of Haus Wachenfeld, in the summer and winter. The summer view shows
the terrace that later figured so prominently in day-to-day life at the Berghof. The rocks
on the roof are a common component of Bavarian mountain houses - they help hold the snow
on the roof for added insulation, and to help prevent large slabs from
sliding off. (both from "Hitler in seinen
Bergen" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1st Edition, 1935 (author's collection) |
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Hitler walks his Schäferhund
(German Shepherd) Blondi, and Eva Braun walks her Scottish Terriers Stasi and Negus at the
west side of the house (after its conversion to the Berghof). (National Archives
RG 242-EB) |
Hitler entertains visitors from
the BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädel - girls' Hitler Youth) near the terrace of Haus Wachenfeld.
(from "Hitler in seinen Bergen" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1st Edition,
1935 (author's collection) |
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Until
about 1935, private individuals could visit the Obersalzberg and pose for
photos with Haus Wachenfeld and the SS guards at the driveway gate. Later
security measures would limit visits by the general public to organized
mass march-pasts, as seen in the postcard view below, and later still the
entire area was closed to the public. (private collection) |
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These two views are
good examples of the souvenir postcards sold to the many visitors at Haus Wachenfeld in
the mid-late 1930s. They bear stamps on the back from the "Kiosk am Haus
Wachenfeld." The photo on the right was taken from the terrace of the Hotel
zum Türken. (author's collection) |
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Haus Wachenfeld during the winter
of 1934. (postcard in author's collection) |
Haus Wachenfeld above the fog in
the Berchtesgaden valley below. (period postcard in author's collection) |
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Haus Wachenfeld as seen from the
Hotel zum Türken, and the same view today (the driveway seen in the
modern view was not the Haus Wachenfeld drive, but a later addition). For
further views of the site today, visit the Berghof
page. (period postcard) |
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Another view of Haus Wachenfeld as seen from the
Hotel zum Türken (on the left) - this postcard was sold as a souvenir at
the Türken, before the owner was forced to sell out to the Nazis in 1933.
Note the Nazi flag flying from the Türken garden terrace. (period
postcard and photo in author's collection) |
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Front sunroom (or
"winter garden") of Haus Wachenfeld. These windows looked out from the sides of
the house (west side on the left, east on the right) The smaller windows looked into the
living room. The large windows on the other side of the room looked out onto the main
terrace. These windows were separated by a doorway (not visible here), and
could be lowered in their casings for an open-air view, much like the
later picture window in the Berghof Great Room. (Thanks to Bill Barth for
discovering this property of the Wintergerten windows and passing this
info to me!) (colorized
postcard versions of photos in "Hitler in seinen Bergen" by Heinrich Hoffmann, 1st
Edition, 1935 (author's collection) |
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The Haus Wachenfeld Wohnzimmer,
or living room. This room was used for cozy meals or meetings, due to the
comfortable atmosphere created by the green tile Bavarian Kachelofen.
(period postcard) |
Hitler's upstairs bedroom in Haus
Wachenfeld. This unique sketch is from a rare book of art by the son of Karl Schuster,
owner of the Hotel zum Türken. (Karl
Schuster-Winkelhof, "Adolf Hitlers Wahlheimat," Munich, 1933,
author's collection) |
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The Haus Wachenfeld Wohnzimmer, before and after remodeling. Even
after the conversion to the Berghof, the interior rooms of Haus Wachenfeld retained
somewhat their rustic Bavarian charm. (postcards in author's collection) |
 Continue to Part 2, to see how Haus Wachenfeld was turned into the
Berghof.
Visit other Obersalzberg sites - Bormann's and
Göring's houses, Platterhof, Gästehaus
and Kampfhäusl, Hotel Zum
Türken, bunker system, Kehlsteinhaus,
SS barracks, Gutshof and Teehaus, miscellaneous
buildings, other miscellaneous area buildings.
 Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
For further information, including Internet links, check
the Bibliography page.
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