Hotel to Open at Hitler's Alpine Retreat

[Jamastiene]

Hotel to Open at Hitler's Alpine Retreat

Thu Feb 17, 5:50 PM ET

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By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer

BERLIN - A new luxury hotel will open next month on the site of Adolf Hitler's Alpine retreat, which served as a part-time seat of government where he and other Nazi leaders often met to plan Germany's assault on Europe and the Holocaust.

Photo
AP Photo



The new hotel, the Intercontinental Resort Berchtesgaden, will open on the Obersalzberg mountaintop to guests on March 1, the Bavarian Finance Ministry said Thursday.

The decision to build a hotel on the site above the German Alp town of Berchtesgaden angered many Jewish groups.

Officials have tried to address their concerns with a documentation center opened in 1999 to detail the area's Nazi past. In addition, the state of Bavaria kept ownership of the land and set the condition that the hotel be designed for affluent tourists — precautions designed to help keep out neo-Nazis.

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Read Full Article Here:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&ncid=535&e=4&u=/ap/20050217/ap_on_re_eu/germany_hitler_s_retreat

They seem to be saying neo-Nazis are poor??? I wonder how long it will be before Bush and Cheney schedule a nostalgic retreat to plan their reich...

[Judi Lynn]

1. Astonishing. Apparently the management feels the time is perfect.

No doubt our own pompous, odd little emperor has reminded them of someone.

How many photos have people seen of Hitler swaggering around, entertaining his guests there? Jeez.

Here's a photo of the "liberation" of the area in 1945. I'll bet these soldiers would be flabbergasted to hear this bit of news!

[DoNotRefill]

2. It's in the town, not actually at the "Eagle's Nest."

I don't see how this is any different from a hotel going up in Richmond, Capitol of the Confederacy, or in Berlin.

BTW, the view is stunning up there.

[Orsino]

8. The view is stunning.

I remember trying to imagine how those monsters could look out on such beauty while planning the Holocaust.

Perhaps that death machine is what makes this situation different from a hotel on the site of a Confederate capital. American slavery was brutal, to be sure, but its deaths were more incidental, rather than being the goal. Consider, too, that the Holocaust is still within living memory.

[moondust]

3. Isn't this where

Hitler kept a stack of Henry Ford's books on a table by the door to hand out to guests?

[jmowreader]

4. I always love the "Hitler used the Eagle's Nest" thing

It's kind of the evil version of "George Washington Slept Here."

The people who ran the American Forces resort in Berchtesgaden knew a lot about Hitler's activities at this little town. Turns out Hitler had this magnificent place, the Adlerhof, built as a Southern retreat. The Nazis put big bucks into it, including an elevator to take him to the top of the mountain...Hitler went there once, looked out the window, discovered he was intensely afraid of heights, and never went back.

Other high-ranking Nazis didn't have this problem, so Hitler's underlings got a lot of use out of it. But Hitler went once.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Interesting!

Part of the P.R. illusion.


The couple were guests at Hitler's mountain retreat
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2699035.stm

CLICK


Unbelievable view.




Hitler in his chalet at Berchtesgaden on his 50th birthday -- April, 1939

http://www.stelzriede.com/ms/html/mshwma35.htm

[bleedingheart]

9. I always laugh at the thought that a short dark haired man

wanted to command a race of tall blonde blue eyed warriors...and then I am filled with disgust with what a freak like him could do....

[bunkerbuster1]

13. I could draw Hitler's fear of heights parallel to Chimpy's fear of horsies

but that would be wrong.

[Squatch]

15. Actually, it's called the Kehlsteinhaus

Not the Adlerhof.

[sybylla]

17. That's funny, I've seen several movie clips

that were supposed to be at the Eagle's Nest, him and Eva or him and a henchman on a balcony high in the mountains so it seemed legit to me.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

5. Come and play with us, Danny...

[Botany]

7. I wonder if John Negroponte & Rummy have already ......

...... made reservations?


Ja und you ville like! Verstehen sie?

[callous taoboy]

10. The Heil Hilton. n/t

[bunny planet]

11. Now we know where HIs Fraudulency will be vacationing.

[underpants]

12. The best food I have ever eaten was in Berchtesgaden from Army cooks

They had a training program where US Army cooks who showed the aptitude spent 3 months there learning from French, Belgian, and German chefs. It was all you can eat and it was out of this world good.

The US government DID own a hotel in Berchtesgaden and some of our unit were sent there for R&R. Not a lot going on that town but the view from our balcony was amazing-the Alps were so close it felt like you could touch them.

We went up to the Eagle's Nest as a tour group. Funny thing-there is a restaurant in the Eagle's Nest (very high end restaurant) and the owners aren't really crazy about the tour groups but they have to put up with it. We were asked to be quiet while walking through the restaurant but it was funny as all these people were enjoying their meals and a bunch of GIs came clamoring through.

Beautiful scenery in the Berchtesgaden area. We played golf and went whitewater rafting. It was a great get away.

[apple_ridge]

14. Freepers must be chomping at the bit to get reservations.

[Squatch]

16. Until the Americans ceded the Obersalzberg complex

back to the Germans, there were a number of hotels there for the use of US servicemembers.

I remember staying at the hotel they are talking about in this article. It was the southern HQ for Albert Speer. The Hotel Berchtesgaden is actually in the town, and not part of the Obersalzberg complex.

The hotel keeper took us aside on a little tour of the parts of the hotels guests don't normally see, including the switchboard, which hasn't been altered since 1944. Each of the switches was labeled with peoples' names, including one for the "Fuehrer".

Our suite, which went for like $50 a night, was Speer's office and was absolutely immense. Great view, too.

[Turley]

18. I don't see a problem with this

The OberSalzburg was a lovely place long before Hitler ever showed up. All of the biggest Nazis had houses there and the Hotel will be built on the hilltop where Göring's house once stood. All of the Nazi houses have been destroyed decades ago. I've been to the ruins of Hitler's house and even picked up a piece as a souvenir. It has since been buried as some Neos keep visiting.

The Army used to have the Gen Walker Hotel which had tunnel complexes underneath. I believe it has been demolished recently. Otherwise, there is a Gasthaus which has some bunkers below it which can still be toured. Very fascinating stuff.

In any case, it's a stunningly beautiful area, worth the visit.

[Squatch]

19. ObersalzBERG...

[Turley]

20. Sorry, mein Fehler

[Squatch]

21. Kein Problem. Macht's nie wieder!

[Turley]

22. Ich sag auch immer

Baden Württemburg

Ich kann's nicht helfen.