World War II

For my first blog I thought I would try to honor a request I received in June to share some of the details of a trip John McNallie took on October 28, 1945 while stationed in Germany with the occupying forces. On October 28, he and some of the friends in his unit visited the small town of Berchtesgaden in the German Alps.

Adolph Hitler had built his home, Berghof, nearby in Ober Salzberg. Berghof meant "mountain house".

Near Hitler's home was a home for Hess, Hitler's second in command. Also living nearby were Field Marshals Goering and Borman. Next to Hitler's house were SS barracks for 800 men, the administrative building, the motor pool, and a hothouse for the plants that Hitler loved. There was also a guesthouse. Tunnels connected all these buildings and in the last months before Germany's defeat these tunnels held huge amounts of food. In the basement was a shooting gallery. Nearby was a guest hotel for 350 people. That hotel is open today.

Hitler enjoyed visiting with some of his Gestapo friends. He also took short walks down the mountainside to a summer house next to some lands he owned.

Some people say Goering enjoyed walking in the alpine hills wearing shorts with a hunting gun.






The man on the right is my father, John McNallie.

This is Adlerhorst--Eagle's Nest--Hitler's hideout. It was a short distance away from the Berghof. The road ended a 100 feet below the house. An elevator took you to the rest of the way up.

Here are three of my father's friends posing in the window at the Berghof with the Alps in the background.