Hitler's 'Wolf Lair' hidden deep in Polish forest to be turned into major tourist attraction

[ellisonz]

By Emma Reynolds
Last updated at 12:14 PM on 19th January 2012

Adolf Hitler's secret 'Wolf Lair' set deep in the heart of a forest in north-eastern Poland is to be turned into a major tourist attraction.

Forestry workers are looking for an investor to help make the Nazi leader's ruined fortress more accessible to holidaymakers.

The camouflaged complex in the woodlands of what was once German East Prussia was one of Hitler's key military headquarters during World War II.

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The spot is open to the public, but does not attract many visitors because it is tucked so far into the forest and accessible only by treacherous dirt roads.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088543/Hitlers-Wolf-Lair-hidden-deep-Polish-forest-turned-major-tourist-attraction.html#ixzz1kAvL3Wwm

Disgusting...let it rust IMHO. I fear that any development will turn it into a site of pilgrimage for Neo-Nazis.

X-Posted to World History: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1166167

[Violet_Crumble]

1. The first thing I thought of when I read yr post was the Eagles Nest....

...and the Nuremberg rally grounds. They're both major tourist attractions, but having been to both, they focus heavily on the evils of the Nazis. The latter's a museum and educates people about what National Socialism was (it's a permanent exhibition called 'Fascination and Terror'). The former (at least this is what I was told) was spared being bombed by the Allies or destroyed after the war because Hitler rarely used it, and there wasn't the heavy connection to him that'd be a magnet for neo-Nazis. Plus I'm sure I'm not the only visitor who's been struck by the obscenity of one of the most beautiful spots in the world being used as a hang-out by the Nazis....

But thinking about it, I'm opposed to any Nazi military sites being rebuilt, especially in Poland where I'm not sure that they'd take the measures the German and Austrian governments take to deter the sites becoming attractions for neo-Nazis. I don't see this one as either a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, or educational like Nuremberg is, and it's probably best left the way it is...

[ellisonz]

2. I remember reading that...

...Hitler wasn't at the Eagles Nest at all from 1942 onwards. From photos it looks like a spectacular place to see...and I'm glad that there are places that people can go to learn about these things. I take issue with the rebuilding/restoration of a purely military site too. I think it's probably actually more interesting as ruins than as any sort of museum. If Polacks want to learn about the period, they can go to Auschwitz.

[MicaelS]

3. The Berghof at Obersalzberg and the Eagle's Nest at Kehlstein are two separate places

Which one did you visit?
[link:http://www.scrapbookpages.com/eaglesnest/berghof.html|
Berghof - Hitler's house on the Obersalzberg]

To this day, many Americans are confused by the names Berghof and Eagle's Nest, which are two separate places. The Berghof was located on a plateau called the Obersalzberg which is on the route to the top of the Kehlstein, the mountain where Hitler's tea house, called the Eagle's Nest, was built in 1938. To add to the confusion, Hitler had another tea house, called Mooslahnerkopf, which was a short walk from the Berghof. The German name for the Eagle's Nest is Kehlsteinhaus, which means house on Kehlstein mountain.

There are many photographs of Hitler, Eva Braun and various Nazi officials that were taken on the terrace at Berghof, but have been mistakenly identified as photos taken at the Eagles's Nest.

Das Kehlsteinhaus - "The Eagle's Nest"

Das Kehlsteinhaus is the famous Teehaus (Teahouse in English) which was built on the Kehlstein mountain in the Bavarian Alps by the Nazis as a gift to Adolph Hitler for his 50ieth birthday. Construction was completed by September 1938, seven months before the building was officially presented to Hitler as a birthday gift on April 20, 1939 by the Nazi party. Widely known to Americans as The Eagle's Nest, the house is one of Germany's top tourist attractions and can be reached by a Tour bus from Munich.

Many Americans mistakenly believe that the term "Eagle's Nest" refers to Hitler's former private residence on the Obersalzberg, which was located just below the Kehlsteinhaus. The movie "War and Remembrance" showed scenes of events which actually happened at Hitler's residence, the Berghof, but were filmed at the Kehlsteinhaus. The term "Eagle's Nest" was allegedly coined by a group of World War I veterans who visited it at Hitler's invitation, and the name has always referred only to Hitler's Teehaus.

Hitler made 14 official visits to the Kehlsteinhaus including his first visit on September 16, 1938, the day after he had met with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain at his Berghof house on the Obersalzberg in the famous "appeasement" conference which many historians consider to be the beginning of World War II. His last official visit was on October 17, 1940. Hitler also made at least 3 unofficial visits. His fear of heights caused him to avoid visiting this fabulous mountain retreat more frequently, but it was a favorite hangout for his mistress, Eva Braun, who often went there with her friends.

LIFE AT THE BERGHOF

Map shows relationship of the two sites.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. Thanks for the link. I'd always assumed those photos were taken at the Eagles Nest...

Our tour guide (I was with a busload of Australians, Canadians and Americans) had told us about the Berghof, but I wasn't aware that's where those photos were taken....