[View from the living room window at Berghof, Berchtesgaden]

Date

• ca. 1938-ca. 1945

Summary

• The view from the living room, towards the mountain of Untersberg, seen on Card 216, is especially significant: Hitler believed Untersberg (rather than the traditional site of Kyffhäuser) to be the location of the "sleeping" medieval emperor Friederich Barbarossa, who, according to legend, would (like a German Rip Van Winkle) awaken one day and lead his people to their destiny. That Hitler felt himself Barbarossa's reincarnation is the reason he would choose this site for his personal retreat. Heavily damaged by the bombing of April 25th, 1945, the ruined Berghof was demolished on April 30th, 1952.