Souvenir Of Berchtesgaden. Berghof.

A photograph album illustrating Hitler's Berghof residence at Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps, produced as a souvenir for the Allied occupation forces in the area and for the English and American tourists who were visiting in the latter 1940s. Hitler had various residences but spent the most time at Berghof, which he built in 1935 using profits from Mein Kampf. It was the chief setting of the Nazi court and played host to many foreign visitors, and it was often the backdrop for propaganda films depicting Hitler as a man of culture rooted in the German landscape. It was heavily bombed by Allied forces in 1945, further damaged by retreating SS troops, and finally looted by the US Army. Its ruins, designated property of the US military government, became a favourite of post-war occupying forces and tourists. To prevent it becoming a permanent tourist site or pilgrimage location for neo-Nazis, the ruins were destroyed in 1952. Consequently, the photograph album is a valuable record, illustrating the house and its interior before the war, after its Allied bombardment, and in its post-war state prior to its permanent demolition. The photographs juxtapose the residence as a pillar of the Nazi state with the ruins. Also included are photographs of the houses of Bormann and Goering, built close to those of Hitler. Oblong quarto (228 x 151 mm). Original red half sheep, blue pebbled-cloth sides, front cover lettered in gilt with colour photographic onlay. With 34 photos (120 x 80 mm) and black and white photographic panoramas at front (80 x 350 mm) and rear (110 x 420 mm). Light rubbing, panorama at rear with tape repairs (and possibly missing panel). A very good copy.