The Berghof began as a much smaller chalet called
Haus Wachenfeld, a holiday home built in 1916 (or 1917) by
Kommerzienrat Otto Winter, a businessman from
Buxtehude. It was located near the
Platterhof, the former
Pension Moritz where Hitler had stayed in 1922–23. By 1926, the family running the pension had left, and Hitler did not like the new owner. He moved first to the
Marineheim and then to a hotel in Berchtesgaden, the
Deutsches Haus, where he dictated the second volume of
Mein Kampf in the summer of 1926. Hitler met his girlfriend at that time,
Maria Reiter, who worked in a shop on the ground floor of the hotel, during another visit in autumn 1926. In 1928, Winter's widow rented
Haus Wachenfeld to Hitler, and his half-sister
Angela came to live there as housekeeper, although she left soon after her daughter
Geli's death in Hitler's
Munich apartment in 1931. By 1933, Hitler had purchased
Haus Wachenfeld with funds he received from the sale of his political manifesto
Mein Kampf. The small chalet-style building was refurbished and much expanded by architect
Alois Degano during 1935–36 under the supervision of
Martin Bormann, when it was renamed
The Berghof (English: "Mountain Court"). The renovated interiors were designed by
Gerdy Troost. A large terrace was built and featured big, colourful, resort-style canvas umbrellas. The entrance hall "was filled with a curious display of
cactus plants in
majolica pots." A dining room was panelled with very costly
cembra pine. Hitler's large study had a telephone switchboard room. The library contained books "on history, painting, architecture and music." A great hall was furnished with expensive
Teutonic furniture, a large globe, and an expansive red marble fireplace mantel. Behind one wall was a projection booth for evening screenings of films (often, Hollywood productions, including
Mickey Mouse). A sprawling picture window could be lowered into the wall to give a sweeping, open-air view of the snow-capped mountains in Hitler's native
Austria. Writer William George Fitz-Gerald, under the pseudonym Ignatius Phayre, published many articles about visiting Hitler at home that were fabricated from Nazi propaganda sources. with their dogs at the Berghof Based on German propaganda sources, Fitz-Gerald, writing for the British
Homes & Gardens magazine, described Hitler as "his own decorator, designer, and furnisher, as well as architect", and the chalet as "bright and airy" with "a light jade-green colour scheme"; caged
Harz Roller canaries were kept in most of the rooms, which were furnished with antiques, mostly German furniture from the 18th century. Old engravings hung in the guest bedrooms, along with some of Hitler's small watercolour sketches. His personal valet
Heinz Linge stated that Hitler and his longtime companion
Eva Braun had two bedrooms and two bathrooms with interconnecting doors, and Hitler would end most evenings alone with her in his study drinking tea. Though Hitler did not smoke, smoking was allowed on the terrace.
His vegetarian diet was supplied by nearby kitchen gardens and, later, a greenhouse. A large complex of mountain homes for the
Nazi leadership, and many buildings for their security and support staff, were constructed nearby. To acquire the land for these projects, many neighbours were compelled to sell their properties and leave. A mountaintop structure, the
Kehlsteinhaus, nicknamed ''Eagle's Nest'' by
André François-Poncet, a French diplomat, was built in 1937–38 above the Berghof, but Hitler rarely went there. , that adorned the "Great Hall", was ceded after the war to the
National Museum in
Warsaw. The area became a German tourist attraction during the mid-1930s, after Hitler came to power as dictator. Visitors gathered at the end of the driveway or on nearby public paths in the hope of catching a glimpse of Hitler. This led to the introduction of severe restrictions on access to the area and other security measures. It was later occupied by the
Generalmajor of the Police. (The hotel was rebuilt in 1950 and reopened as a hotel before Christmas, the Hotel zum Türken. Visitors can still explore the historic underground hallways and tunnels that had been used by the Nazis.) Whenever Hitler was in residence, members of the RSD and
Führerbegleitkommando (Führer Escort Command; FBK) were present. While the RSD men patrolled the grounds, the FBK men provided close security protection for Hitler. Several Wehrmacht mountain troop units were also housed nearby. Hence, the British never planned a direct attack on the compound.
Guests Guests at the Berghof included political figures, monarchs, heads of state, and diplomats along with painters, singers, and musicians. The important visitors personally greeted on the steps of the Berghof by Hitler included
David Lloyd George (3 March 1936), the
Aga Khan (20 October 1937),
Duke and
Duchess of Windsor (22 October 1937),
Kurt von Schuschnigg (12 February 1938),
Neville Chamberlain (15 September 1938), and
Benito Mussolini (19 January 1941). At the end of July 1940, Hitler summoned his military chiefs from
OKW and
OKH to the Berghof for the 'Berghof Conference' at which the 'Russian problem' was studied. On 11 May 1941,
Karlheinz Pintsch visited the Berghof to deliver a letter from
Rudolf Hess informing Hitler of his illegal flight to
Scotland. on the steps of the Berghof. Hitler's social circle at his Berghof retreat – which his intimates referred to as "on the
Berg" – included Eva Braun and her sister
Gretl, Herta Schneider and her children, Eva's friend Marion Schönmann,
Heinrich Hoffmann, and the wives and children of other Nazi leaders and Hitler's staff who would all pose for an annual group photograph on the occasion of Hitler's birthday. The social scene at the Berghof ended on 14 July 1944, when Hitler left for his military headquarters in East Prussia, never to return. Silent colour films shot by Eva Braun survived the war and showed Hitler and his guests relaxing at the Berghof. In 2006, computer
lip-reading software transcribed several parts of their conversations. Among those identified in the films were
Joseph Goebbels,
Reinhard Heydrich,
Heinrich Himmler,
Joachim von Ribbentrop,
Albert Speer, and
Karl Wolff. Two guests planned to use a visit to the Berghof as an opportunity to assassinate Hitler. On 11 March 1944, Captain
Eberhard von Breitenbuch arrived with a concealed pistol with the intention of shooting Hitler in the head, but guards would not allow him into the same room. On 7 June 1944, Colonel
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg planned to detonate a bomb at a meeting there, but his fellow conspirators would not give him approval to do so because Himmler and
Hermann Göring were not also present.
British assassination plan The Allies rejected suggestions about derailing Hitler's train to Obersalzberg and using poison in the train's drinking water, but the British developed a plan named
Operation Foxley in 1944. This called for a sniper to kill Hitler on his daily 15–20 minute walk from the Berghof residence to the
Teehaus on the Mooslahnerkopf Hill, which had been revealed by a prisoner of war. The operation would be undertaken by a German-speaking Pole and a British sniper wearing German uniforms after being parachuted into Austria. They would be housed and led to the area by an anti-Nazi, identified as "Heidentaler" who lived nearby in
Salzburg. ==Post-war ruins==