He made it his home,
his retreat, his sanctuary. The Obersalzberg
was an ordinary Bavarian mountain until Adolf Hitler discovered it in 1923. Up on top, 700 kilometers from Berlin, the Nazi leader
spent a quarter of his reign surrounded
by his most faithful lieutenants and his mistress, Eva Braun. At the center of the ultra-secure compound
stood his immense house, the Berghof. Above that,
perched on a rocky peak at 1,800 meters, the famous Eagle's Nest
dominated the region, symbolizing their thirst for grandeur. Here, overlooking
a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, the darkest ideas
of humanity were conceived. However, on the site, despite the bombings
and the will to make the past disappear, there are some remnants. This is in the right place to be this. Through field studies, survivors' stories,
and computer-generated imagery, we'll discover how
a quiet little mountain was changed into a massive military-political complex. Seventy years after the end of the war, what are the Obersalzberg's trees hiding? What remains of the network of tunnels
and the sprawling bunker system dug inside the mountain? How does history live on in every corner
of Adolf Hitler's alpine refuge? Bavaria, Germany,
in the early 1920s. In a country decimated by war
and economic collapse, a new extreme right-wing party,
the NSDAP, is growing in Munich. The National Socialist
German Workers' Party is symbolized by a black swastika
on a red and white background. It's commonly referred to
as the Nazi Party. Its leader is about 30 years old. His name is Adolf Hitler. Anti-Semitic and anti-Communist, this great orator
and former German Army corporal is skilled at using simple language
and persuasive arguments. He claims to want to restore
the country's greatness and crisscrosses Bavaria,
building his propaganda machine. In the spring of 1923,
he goes to Berchtesgaden, a small village in southern Bavaria,
for the first time. It is a small, quiet mountain community. The young Adolf comes to meet
the anti-Semitic writer Dietrich Eckart, one of his most fervent supporters,
who will also become his friend. He registers at the Moritz guesthouse
under the pseudonym Mr. Wolf. This pretty inn,
highly regarded by the Bavarian nobility, is located on a small mountain
that climbs to 1,000 meters, the Obersalzberg. In front of it stands the Untersberg, a large massive that runs along the border
between Austria and Germany. It all began on the morning
of April 29th, 1923, when Hitler woke up, looked out that window, and as he said,
fell in love with the landscape there, in particular, the Untersberg. This spring morning in 1923
will forever change the destiny of the Obersalzberg. It was here that Adolf Hitler returned
to stay a year later, before which
he was imprisoned for nine months for attempting
to take power in Bavaria by force. In his cell,
he began to write his book, Mein Kampf, and decided that when he was free,
he'd return to nature on the Obersalzberg to complete his work. During his stay in prison, Dietrich Eckart died
from his alcohol and morphine abuse. Hitler finished
the second volume of his book. He dedicated it to his author friend, who had given him
his ferocious hatred of the Jewish people. "I want also to reckon among them,
that man who has one of the best," "by words, and by thoughts,
and finally, by deeds," "dedicated his life
to the awakening of his," "of our nation, Dietrich Eckart." Dietrich Eckart is one of the most
underestimated individuals in Hitler's life. He shaped Hitler as a person. He was absolutely vital
in Hitler's early political career. This may be part of Nazi mythology, but Eckart was alleged
to have said on his deathbed that Hitler would dance,
but it was he who played the tune. The first evidence the Nazi leader
left in the Obersalzberg region, dates back
to the death of Dietrich Eckart. It can be found in the basement
of the Berchtesgadener Anzeiger, the local newspaper,
where the archives are kept. The first notice
of Dietrich Eckart's death on December 26th in Berchtesgaden appears
here in the Berchtesgadener Anzeiger from December 29th. The first notice
was written by his friends. A few pages later, there's a second death notice
with the swastika. The swastika is backward,
perhaps due to the type at the printers. It's quite interesting to see
that there is a death notice from his friends
and a death notice from the party. It shows that there was already
a political party at the time, which only grew from there. Beginning in 1924, Adolf Hitler's steady rise
gradually led to irreversible changes on the peaceful little Bavarian mountain. Jeff Walden is one of the top
Obersalzberg experts. Passionate about the Second World War, this former American soldier
spent years stationed in Germany. He has dedicated
a great deal of time for his research. He's published several books on evidence
of the Third Reich in the region. In recent years, Jeff has scoured the area
to find remains from the period, so he knows every inch of the mountain. In order to carry out his investigation,
he has used the original plans and thousands of archival photographs
collected throughout Europe. He knows precisely where the buildings
occupied by the Nazis once stood and what remains of them today. On the mountainside,
he found the remains of the Kampfhaus, the first chalet
that Adolf Hitler stayed at in the early 1920s. When he was released from prison, he came back to the Obersalzberg
he had visited before. He came back here to stay and use this quiet area
as a writer's retreat. There were a few trees in the woods here, but not as many
as there are now blocking the view. There was a little wood cabin here. The stones are what's left
of that cabin's foundation. He used that as a writer's retreat
to finish his book, Mein Kampf. During the Nazi era, this house was preserved
as a sort of shrine to Hitler and his book Mein Kampf. To the visitors
who came to the Obersalzberg, this was one of the special sites
that they came to visit. In 1928, Hitler decided
to rent the Haus Wachenfeld, a small house located a few hundred meters
below the small chalet. This typically Bavarian building
rented for 100 marks per month. Little by little,
what was once a hideout opened its doors to the admirers who flocked to him. Before 1933,
this was Hitler's very private retreat. He interacted with the locals. We know Josepha Mitzi Reiter, a girlfriend with whom he had
a serious love interest early on. There were a lot of local interactions. Clearly, in 1933,
when he became Chancellor, it became a place of pilgrimage. This is where we see these crowds, the hundreds and even thousands of people
who come from all over Germany to walk past his house. Hitler bought the Wachenfeld Haus with the income
from Mein Kampf's colossal sales. Very quickly,
overwhelmed by the idolatrous crowds and busy in his role
as the Chancellor of the Reich, he decided to enlarge it
and heighten its security. Between 1935 and 1937, the construction work took place
in three main phases. First, a botanical garden and a garage
were added to the Wachenfeld Haus. In 1936,
during the largest expansion phase, the small wooden house was swallowed up
by a huge adjoining building. A deck was created above the garage. The last phase extended the left wing and created another one
on the right side of the house. In 1937, the Wachenfeld Haus
gave way to an enormous building now called the Berghof. Its 30 rooms house Hitler's apartments,
his photographer, his mistress Eva Braun, and all the staff. The centerpiece of the house
was the central living room and a panoramic bay window. Made up of 90 small windows, it was seven meters long
and four meters high. Twenty-eight square meters of glass, a real show of technical skill
that offered Hitler's guests a breathtaking view of the Unterberg. Hitler once said
he designed the Berghof around a window. Hitler would bring
political leaders there, stand them before the window, and essentially indicate
that it was his power, his realm. Bombed at the end of the war
by the English and then by the Americans, the buildings were entirely destroyed
by the Bavarians themselves to prevent the Obersalzberg
from turning into a Nazi pilgrimage site. Today, there is very little evidence
of Adolf Hitler's famous Berghof. The main thing that can be seen
on the Berghof site today is the retaining wall
that was behind the house. This was not part of the house, and the house
was not attached to this wall. It was just a large concrete wall
that was put here to hold the hillside from moving forward
into the back of the house. Visitors would arrive at the driveway, then ascend the grand staircase. The SS Honor Guard would be lined up here, and then they would enter
through one of these three archways into the Berghof proper. It's thought that this piece of stone here
is the base of one of these two pillars that form the main entrance
to the Berghof. I have taken a tape measure here
and have done a lot of measuring, and this is in the right place to be this. It's right about up there. Hitler's bedroom was right up there. The famous terrace
was on top of the garage itself, so it would have been right up there. Just above the Berghof, the Zum Türken Hotel was transformed
into a barracks for Hitler's bodyguards. Above that lived Martin Bormann,
the one who oversaw everything. Bormann ran Hitler's property. Totally devoted to the Führer, he was the feared master
of the Obersalzberg. Today, a luxury hotel stands
where his house once was. However, the building's original plans
are kept at Munich's Architekturmuseum. [German spoken audio] This old Obersalzberg house
was a children's sanitarium. What's interesting
is that from the outside, it looks typically local, simply to keep the vacation home feel. [German spoken audio] Inside, we know that the house
was furnished quite luxuriously. In the Munich archives, invoices prove that he possessed
the most expensive collection of minerals and that everything was very luxurious. Martin Bormann knew that for Adolf Hitler
to continue to come to his Berghof, his inner circle must accompany him, and his loyal followers must be near him
to ponder the Reich's future. He had to either refurbish or build homes
and barracks to house soldiers. Under Bormann's oversight, 60,000 workers were sent
to the Obersalzberg, and the mountain became
a gigantic construction site. The Obersalzberg illustrates the way
Bormann put himself at the forefront. By appropriating
this personal project of Hitler's, he seized his chance
to exercise his power. He forced all the Obersalzberg residents
to give up their property. When he did not force them out,
he threatened to do it. He ran a brutal construction site. Omnipresent and bad-tempered, the architects complained about a man who,
without a clue of what he was doing, put an enormous amount
of pressure on everyone. [German spoken audio] A part of Martin Bormann's success was that he was always
two thoughts ahead of Hitler. He was always anticipating
what Hitler might want or need. Before Hitler even needed
to ask the question, Martin Bormann
had already delivered the answer. In just a few years,
the Obersalzberg changed its appearance and became the second
Nazi decision-making center after Berlin. To ensure the safety of the Chancellor,
access to the area was forbidden. Eventually,
the entire Obersalzberg was a closed area. Hitler was protected by two
or three rings of security where he lived. There was an inner ring
right around the Berghof area itself, and all of these rings were fenced off
with fencing just like this here. This is part of the original fencing. The secure area possessed by the Nazis
covered ten square kilometers. Guard posts were placed
around the three security perimeters, and 35 new buildings were built. Among them was a house
for Hermann Göring, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, and another for Albert Speer, the Nazi's party chief architect. There was even a theater. Here we are in the ruins
of a large theater hall, the so-called Theaterhalle. It was built in 1937
to provide a venue for entertainment for all the workers
stationed here on the Obersalzberg. This was mainly a place
where they could come and watch cinema films. All the workers were allowed to come in,
the seats were free. This was the audience area. The projection room
was at the front of the theater hall, so the films would have been projected
on a screen on the back wall. We're standing below the floor area,
the main area of the theater hall. It was supported
on these concrete pillars, so we're in what would have been
the basement then. [German spoken audio] As we can see from the plans, the theater was 35 meters wide
and probably 65 or 70 meters long. That's big. The building was designed
for 2,000 workers. Sometimes there were also
propaganda events. Clearly, we can see
the Reich Eagle everywhere. They used it
to try to influence the workers. On the mountain, it was highly important
that Nazi dignitaries and their staff
could live self-sufficiently. To feed them,
Martin Bormann had big plans. Beneath the secured area, he transformed a building
into a huge farm called the Gutshof. We're standing
on what is now a golf course, but in the 1930s and 1940s,
it was just a meadow of the Gutshof farm. The main buildings we see
in the valley with a silver tin roof were part of the Gutshof farm. It was built
as an experimental or model farm. Martin Bormann was a farmer at heart, and farming continued
to be one of his hobbies. Therefore, he had to have a farm here. On the Obersalzberg, the farms were destroyed,
the farmers were driven out, and everything was replaced
by the Bormann Pilot Farm. However, this farm
was absolutely not productive. It did not work at all, simply because they did not have
the local peasants' knowledge of the land. This is a plan for the greenhouse
that was built near the Berghof. It was 119 meters long and 26 meters wide. They were shaped like a crescent. They tried to grow vegetables
and flowers for the Berghof, but it was not enough. The Nazis were never able
to grow enough food for everyone. However, with his passion for grandeur
coupled with his adulation of the Führer, Martin Bormann wanted to do more. He wanted to offer Adolf Hitler
a physical metaphor of his domination. In 1937, he decided to build a house on the peak
of the Kehlstein mountain at 1,824 meters. Built by 3,000 men in less than 13 months, it would later be christened
the Eagle's Nest. From the Obersalzberg, the climb begins
with a 6.5-kilometer mountain road topped with five tunnels
leading to a plateau. From there,
a long tunnel carved into the rock leads to an elevator shaft. There were two elevator cars. The top one was for the Nazi elite,
and the one underneath was for equipment. They climbed the last 120 meters
in approximately 40 seconds, arriving in the center of the house. Today, the elevator
and its bronze car have been preserved, and the Eagle's Nest,
untouched by the bombing of 1945, has been transformed
into a high-altitude restaurant. This mythical place
became a symbol of Hitler's domination during the Second World War. However, the place played
virtually no role during the war. Hitler was agoraphobic
and did not like heights. He went up there only a handful of times. Ultimately, this house would be used
mostly by Hitler's most private companion, his mistress Eva Braun. In one of his amateur videos, we recognize the marriage celebration
between her sister Gretl Braun and Hermann Fegelein, an SS general. On this 1944 summer day, he was already responsible
for tens of thousands of deaths. When Hitler came to spend a few days
in his Berghof, time seemed to stop. The Führer wanted
to take advantage of his mountain while reflecting on his political
and military strategies. Albert Feiber works
at the Contemporary History Institute in Munich. As part of his research, he has studied
how life at the Obersalzberg was organized and has researched Hitler's habits
while he stayed at his home. His days were actually quite boring. As we know, Hitler lived at night. He got up very late,
often skipping breakfast and lunch. [German spoken audio] Generally, he held his first meetings
at the end of the morning. After a late lunch, Hitler and all his Berghof entourage walked to the teahouse
on Mount Mooslahnerkopf on the road we're on now. During these ritual walks,
he sought a privileged confidant. The path was very narrow. There was only room
for two people side by side. They discussed highly political subjects. From the Berghof,
they walked an hour down the valley to reach the tea room. Bombed in 1945, and finally destroyed in 2006
by the local authorities, the tea room has almost disappeared, and its ruins
have been overrun by the forest. Here, we are on the last remains
of the Mooslahnerkopf tea room. Once people got here,
they drank tea, coffee, ate cakes, and talked innocently. We don't know if it is true, but it is said that Hitler fell asleep
once or twice during his monologues. After an hour and a half,
everyone drove back to the Berghof. After dinner,
guests gathered in the Great Hall to listen to Hitler's long monologues. Sometimes they would watch a movie, and the evening went on
until four o'clock in the morning. [German spoken audio] Hitler was a big fan of American movies. They were officially censored in Germany,
but they were his favorite films. He was a big Mickey Mouse fan too. Life at the Berghof
is the antithesis of life in Berlin. Here, the fierce dictator,
ready to exterminate millions of people, gives way to a simple man,
his love of nature, and alpine folklore. The decoration is typically Bavarian, and even the smallest object
must show the Chancellor's glory. French soldiers brought back
many pieces as trophies to Paris when they came
to liberate the mountain in May 1945. This is a tablecloth
with Adolf Hitler's initials. It was made in Munich
and bears a floral motif. It's quite suitable for life
in the mountains in Berchtesgaden. [French spoken audio] There are several other examples
of matching tablecloths and napkins. There are several napkins
of questionable color, all with Adolf Hitler's initials. Here is the swastika. Here, we have a knife that comes
from Hitler's personal silverware set. It is a bit more elaborate, with a sort of Greek motif on the handle, and then the German Eagle
and Adolf Hitler's initials. It becomes a personality cult
to Adolf Hitler, since all the elements
found at the Berghof, including the Kehlsteinhaus, are almost always
systematically marked "AH," the initials of Adolf Hitler. Hitler used this object. It was on his personal desk. Photos show it at the Berghof,
where we can see it on his desk. In it, there are his letterhead, envelopes, and calling cards
with his name, Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi emblem. There is still the card from his secretary reminding him
about Bormann's mother's birthday. The French soldiers' trophies
from the Berghof show a sumptuous lifestyle in high contrast
to that of the Berchtesgaden residents. The residents of the city of Berchtesgaden
call the residence of the Obersalzberg, Adolf and his cronies, "Those out there." There were waiters in white gloves. Everything was very methodical, orchestrated with a high level of protocol
for the visits of the heads of state. Since the Berghof was a place of power, we found objects given by dignitaries
to show their friendship, as is the case for this box. It was a gift given to Hitler
for his 50th birthday on April 20th, 1939. It is a gold and silver box. It shows the functions
of the Chancellor as the nation's savior. With time, the Obersalzberg
became the Reich's second capital. Between the trinkets
and the men standing at attention, politics continued to operate. It's quite surprising, but the mountain had become
a real second seat of power that functioned completely outside
of normal bureaucracy. When Heinrich Himmler was there
in this quiet, green environment, they did not talk about the weather but about the deportation
of the Hungarian Jews or how many people
were going to be murdered in the gas chambers. All of this was decided orally. Mixed with their daily
ordinary conversations, weighty decisions were made. A symbol of the Chancellor's omnipotence, the Obersalzberg
and the Berghof became key places in the diplomatic relations
between Germany and the rest of the world. The press often reported
on world leaders and ambassadors who made official visits to Hitler
in his vast Bavarian residence. Hitler would orchestrate these arrivals. Sometimes he would come
all the way down to the steps. I think when the Prince of Wales visited, he met him at the base of the stairs
and accompanied him up. When Chamberlain came,
Hitler walked halfway down the stairs. On other occasions, he is said
to have stood at the top of the stairs and simply waited
for the person to come up to him. He designed his own protocol
and his own theatrics around this. From the writing of Mein Kampf
to the final decisions of the war, it was in this breathtaking setting
that Hitler hatched the key strategies of the Third Reich. All the planning
for the summer of 1939 took place there. Across from the Berghof,
you have the Untersberg. The soul of Friedrich Barbarossa
is said to reside in the Untersberg, who would one day rise
to conquest and power. Hitler named the invasion of Russia
"Operation Barbarossa". This was the place
of "inspiration" for him. He famously said that that was where
he had spent his most pleasant times and conceived his great ideas. When it comes to ideas, the list is long. It was at the Berghof
that he ordered the boycott of all Jewish businesses in 1933. It was where he prepared
the Munich Agreement in 1938 and ordered
the handicapped euthanasia program in 1941. Finally, it is where
Hitler ordered the deportation of half a million Hungarian Jews in 1944. Behind these gruesome scenes
was Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's mistress. She began living there secretly in 1936 because Hitler wanted to show the world
that he had no private life. However, when he had no guests
or when he was absent, Eva Braun took over the premises
and filmed her leisurely daily life. For Eva Braun,
the Berghof is a kind of refuge. She is recognized there. She's the boss. Hitler always tells her
to go to the mountain and take her friends and sisters. Robert Brandner
is an antiques dealer in Berchtesgaden. He specializes in a niche market,
the Berghof relics. Numerous objects
have passed through his hands, and among them are letters
written by Eva Braun to her best friend, Herta Schneider. Herta received her letters or cards. I had a bundle of them. They said: "How are you, my little Herta?" "Do you want to spend
a few days in the mountains?" "I'm a little lonely up here." "I would enjoy your company." "My sisters are coming next week." Et cetera. Upon her death,
Eva Braun left many belongings to Herta Schneider, and Robert Brandner
was later in charge of selling them. I had suitcases, clothes, nightgowns, tights, gloves, everything. There was some furniture too. This dressing table
comes from Eva Braun's room. It stayed at the Berghof until the end. At the end of the war, a resident of Berchtesgaden
took it from the Berghof. One could also say that she looted it. It turns out it was probably fair game since Martin Bormann himself
had stolen it in the first place. During the war, Eva Braun continued
to spend time with her close entourage. In 1944, the marriage between her sister and SS Fegelein was the occasion
for a final festive moment. At that time, Germany was undergoing
the Allied Force's incessant attacks. In 1943, when bombs fell on Munich,
which was just a 20-minute flight away, the Obersalzberg trembled. Hitler and his faithful secretary,
Martin Bormann, knew that their mountain was vulnerable. Despite all the precautions taken
to build an ultra-secure area, an airstrike could easily destroy
their Bavarian retreat. To protect them, Martin Bormann
launched an enormous new project, the construction of a network of bunkers and tunnels
buried deep inside the mountain. This was one of the emergency exits
to Hitler's own personal tunnel. This is the only access
to Hitler's tunnel system today, because all the other entrances
have either been buried or blocked off. Back there, in Hitler's own tunnel system, there were some 17 rooms,
if you count the toilets. There were rooms for Hitler,
for his mistress, Eva Braun, for his personal physician, Doctor Morell, for his personal servants
and his closest adjutants, and also some staff rooms
for the SS guards. The Berghof's bunker
was first built in 1943. Its construction took place
in three distinct phases. Section A was completed
around Christmas 1943. It went from a staircase
located just behind the Berghof and extended to the basement
of the former hotel Zum Türken, where Hitler's personal bodyguard stayed. It included the personal apartments
of the Führer and his entourage. Section B, built in 1944,
extended westward. It contained
all of the operational facilities, a telecommunications room,
archives, a kitchen, and a control room
for the electricity and air conditioning. Section C,
whose construction could not be completed, included a tunnel
that went even deeper into the mountain to escape potential attackers. The Führer's bunker was equipped
with several emergency exits, but it was also connected to the bunker
of Martin Bormann by a tunnel. Between the two,
a shelter designed to accommodate 400 men was built under the SS barracks. Göring and Speer's houses
had their own burrows. In total, in less than two years, a sprawling 6-kilometer
and 22,000-square-meter network was dug inside the Obersalzberg. This rare footage dates back to 2004. It comes from one of the rare times the Bavarian government
authorized a complete exploration of the Obersalzberg's bunkers. It was led by a German archaeologist
accompanied by a camera operator. Here's another pass. Here, we are under Martin Bormann's house. Although Allied Forces went
through these tunnels just after the war, there are still traces
of the German occupation during the war years. Here, they called it the casino, which served as a living room
and dining room. [German spoken audio] [German spoken audio] That's some ointment. We're heading for the emergency exit. We are again above the air ducts. Here we can see the old armored door
which is on the ground. To avoid neo-Nazi pilgrimages, the Obersalzberg's bunkers
are now closed off, but one area,
which is a few hundred meters long, is still accessible. In this second seat of power, the bunkers were to be used
not only as anti-aircraft shelters, but also as the government's
underground headquarters. That's why they were intended
to be so immense right from the start. Axel Drecoll is the site's custodian. The Contemporary History Institute
of Munich has entrusted him with preserving
the memory of Obersalzberg. Here, we are in a room
originally reserved for the operations, hence the appearance of a large hall. Otherwise, many rooms
were supposed to accommodate the families of senior party officials for long stays. They were therefore habitable. It was sparse, not luxurious. However, the small rooms
could serve as bedrooms, offices, and control rooms. The idea was to be able
to continue the war from here. Inside, everything was designed so that the occupants could remain
underground for as long as possible while remaining isolated from the surface. In the 1940s,
Goebbels called for a total war, and the logical consequence was that as the ideological delirium
no longer worked above ground, they buried themselves underground. That's what the bunker shows. The sprawling network has two levels. One is filled with habitable shelters. The second, located just below,
held the electricity, heat, water, and especially
the very sophisticated ventilation system. At a rate of 3,000 cubic meters per hour, the air was drawn in,
filtered, dehumidified, and then vented
into the bunker's corridors. A slight extra pressure
then allowed the stale air to be pushed outside. This system made it possible
both to renew the air and most importantly, to prevent any contaminated air
from infiltrating the network. In the event
of a chemical attack or bombing, leakproof valves were used
to block chemicals and fumes from entering the tunnels. The underground complex could thus operate
in a closed circuit for several hours. This gigantic construction
mobilized the Reich's best engineers, making it almost indestructible. The tunnels were constructed
from several materials. First, solid concrete
that touched the rock. Then a first brick wall
to drain water leaks. Then a layer of plastic insulation, and finally, a second wall
made of a double row of bricks covered with plaster. In 1945, as the war was ending,
the network was still under construction. The Nazi leader's goal
was to create another, even deeper level. Behind, there is still an elevator shaft. The shaft is finished,
but there was never an elevator. Imagine lifts that could carry trucks. In fact, it should have been
a real underground city. Here, we have a bunker entrance or exit. It could be reached by this staircase. At the bottom of the stairs, access was monitored
by soldiers armed with machine guns. On the surface, the Luftwaffe added
a few lines of classic defense, a battalion of anti-aircraft artillery, and a fog machine in addition
to camouflaging the main buildings. In the spring of 1945, when the German Army
suffered heavy losses on all fronts and the country was being massively bombed
by Allied Aviation, the Royal Air Force decided to strike
the alpine retreat of Adolf Hitler as a symbolic gesture. On April 28th, 1945, a shower of bombs
fell on the Obersalzberg. It was practically
the only thing in Germany that hadn't been bombed. However,
I think it was a strategic decision to say that they moving the war into that particular location. At the time,
there was an early warning system. When the 15 warnings sounded,
you had 15 minutes to get to safety, so you had to go home. With the ten and five warnings,
you had to go to the nearest bunker. On the day of the Obersalzberg bombing, I did not want to go down into a bunker
because I wanted to go home. However,
I was half an hour's walk from my house. On the road, a plane shot at me. Imagine, I was on the road,
and a plane shot at me, a little kid. On the surface,
all buildings were affected, but the bunker had worked. The bombing caused only six deaths. In the region, the residents
of Berchtesgaden were traumatized and would soon discover
the atrocities committed by the Nazis. I was convinced that the Führer
was the biggest and the strongest. I did not understand
why my parents did not agree. At the end of the war, I was 13 years old. You must understand that for me, as a kid,
losing the war was a catastrophe, a humiliation. We were the ideal country. The Nazis were the best,
pure, and without flaws. I did not know anything at the time. As the locals finally ventured
into the mountains, French troops from General Leclerc,
2nd Armored Division, moved toward
the quintessential symbol of Nazi power. At the same time,
US forces were also arriving. Even today,
two versions of history don't agree on who arrived at the Berghof first. Berlin had fallen a few days before. The ground troops didn't know
that Hitler had committed suicide. They think that he might be up there,
so it's a race to victory. The Americans arrived
in the city of Berchtesgaden on May 4th. They believe they have reached their goal,
Hitler's house. They are close, but so far away. However, not knowing the area,
they stop in the city center. The 2nd Armored Division
arrives on their heels two or three hours after,
according to the railway's records. The French knew more
about the area because an officer, who had been taken prisoner
and had traveled through there in 1940, took them to the Berghof. Therefore, the French arrived
on the Obersalzberg first. A few hours earlier, the last SS soldiers on the site
had set fire to the buildings, so the French soldiers
happen upon a smoking Berghof. Alain Raphaël is one of the first soldiers
to have entered Adolf Hitler's lair. At that time, he was 24. We traveled up to it
on an extremely damaged road. We parked our tanks under the terrace. I can still see myself entering this room
that overlooked the Alps. I had seen photos
and movies of Hitler parading around, and I found myself in this room. I enjoyed it. Under the stairs, we broke down a door
and discovered a small room. In there, there were items
that were as kitschy as you could imagine. Everyone helped themselves
to as much as they could. However, as I lost my tank afterward,
I wasn't able to keep anything. French soldiers found
the huge tunnel network built under the Berghof. To mark their passage, three of them engraved their initials,
as well as the Cross of Lorraine, the symbol of the Free French Forces. Quickly, the GIs caught up
with the French on the mountain, also finding
the smoking remains of the Berghof. After having lived
under the Nazi stranglehold, the village was about to live
with the American army for 45 years. The last remains of the Berghof
were completely destroyed in 1952, and until 1995,
US soldiers went to the Obersalzberg to relax in their free time. Once Germany reunited, Bavaria tried to make the mountain
attractive to tourists again. The area has been reforested, and the last remains of the structures
built by the Nazis were destroyed to make room for new buildings,
like this immense luxury hotel. Today, the Obersalzberg
has become peaceful again, but what little remains from the wartime
offers precious evidence of the period. In their own way, the remains recount
the 20 years of Nazi occupation, which saw Adolf Hitler and his followers
take over a small Bavarian mountain to satisfy their thirst for power.
