Hitler's Mountain: Hidden Traces

I wanted to go down to the bunker because I wanted to go home. But it was a half hour walk from my house. On the way, a plane shot at me. Imagine I was on the road and a plane shot at me, when I was a little boy. On the surface, all buildings were affected, but the bunker was functioning. The bombing killed only six people. The inhabitants of the Berchtesgaden area were shocked and would soon discover the atrocities committed by the Nazis. He was convinced that the Führer was the greatest and most powerful. I didn't understand why my father didn't agree.

At the end of the war I was 13 years old. You must understand that for me, as a child, losing the war was a disaster of humiliation. We were the perfect country. The Nazis were the best, pure and impeccable. I didn't know anything at that time. When the locals finally ventured into the

mountain

s, French troops from General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division advanced toward the quintessential symbol of Nazi power. At the same time, American forces were also arriving. Even today, two versions of the story do not agree on who arrived at the Berghof first. Berlin fell a few days ago.

The ground forces did not know that Hitler had committed suicide. They think there could be, so it's a race to victory. The Americans reached Berchtesgaden on May 4. They believe they have reached their goal: Hitler's house. They are close, but very far away. But I don't know the area and they stop in the center. The 2nd Armored Division arrives hot on its heels two or three hours later, according to railway records. The French knew more about the area because an officer, who had been captured and traveled from there in 1940, took them to the Berghof. Thus, the French reached the Obersalzberg first.

A few hours ago, the last SS soldiers arrived at the scene and set fire to the buildings, as happens when French soldiers smoke the Berghof. Alain Raphael is one of the first soldiers to enter Adolf Hitler's bunker. At that time he was 24 years old. We traveled there along a very destructive path. We parked our tanks under the balcony. I still see myself walking into this room with views of the Alps. I saw pictures and films of Hitler floating around and found myself in this room. Enjoy it. Under the stairs we break down the door and discover a small room.

There were elements there that were comical as you can imagine. Everyone helped each other as much as they could. However, since I lost my tank after that, I couldn't keep anything. French soldiers found a huge network of tunnels built under the Berghof. To mark their passage, three of them had their initials engraved, as well as the Cross of Lorraine, symbol of the Free French Forces. Soon the American soldiers were able to catch up with the French on the

mountain

and also found the smoldering remains of the Berghof. After living under Nazi strangulation, the village had to live with the American army for 45 years.

The last remains of the Berghof were completely destroyed in 1952 and until 1995 American soldiers went to Obersalzberg to relax in their free time. Once Germany was reunified, Bavaria tried to make the mountain attractive to tourists again. The area was reforested and the Nazis destroyed the last remains of the structures to make way for new buildings, such as this enormous luxury hotel. Today, Obersalzberg has become peaceful again, but what little remains from the war period provides valuable evidence of that period. In his own way, The Remnants recounts 20 years of Nazi occupation, in which Adolf Hitler and his followers took over a small Bavarian mountain to satisfy his thirst for power.