I did a complete walking tour of the Obersalzberg today. Started at the Göring hill and found the approximate sites of the Goring and Bormann houses. The Hotel Türken, which has been restored (in part), which is where I write this, is right across the street. It was appropriated by, first the SS, and then the RSD. Then I went up the hill and passed the empty void where the Kindergarten and SS Kaserne used to be. they put the Kehlstein bus lot at approximately the same location as the Platterhof garage complex. All that is left of the Platterhof (General Walker) is part of the terrace and the “Skyline” room, which now houses a restaurant.
I did the documentation center. I could spend hours there, and really recommend it as a first stop. I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked there, so I bought the related books, which unfortunately are not available (yet) in English. The center is in a former Nazi guest house “Höher Goll”, which has been restored somewhat true to shape but not building materials, although part of the back facade was reused. It should be noticed the sites were heavily plundered after the war. Then I accessed the small portion of the bunker system that was part of the exhibit.
Then I went up to the Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus). That’s when memories started flooding back. Grandma and Grandpa Raulston came to see us in 1984 and I have several pictures and memories from walking the Kehlstein grounds. I felt kind of empty like I was missing something. For the first time on this trip, I wasn’t thinking of history... but personal history and memories. And I realized that even though I stood on the exact same spot and touched the exact same spot, I can’t bring Grandpa back or recreate a moment. It has taken, what, 18 years to make peace with that. Berlin was MY experience, but this was a shared experience that already had a personal story.
So let’s review how we got here and why this history is important to me personally.
1. All this history happens because some guy Hitler takes over the German government
legally and by democratic means.
2. My Granddad Simpson goes to Germany at the end of the war. My Dad is born in
Nürnberg.
3. Technically, as part of the post-war occupation, my immediate family returns, courtesy of
the U.S. Air Force and we travel Europe, including Berchtesgaden-Obersalzberg.
4. Given the current politics in the United States it is important to understand the roots,
history, and components of Fascism and National Socialism
So this history is important to me because it is not just German, American, or World history, but MY history as well. That and the fact my great grandmother was full German (Brandenberger) and thus have German roots..