Kept busy all day long. At night we went into the kitchen and had coffee and sat around and talked . The people treat us really swell.
Your Son, ‘Chick’
May 10, 1945 – Thursday
May 9, 1945 – Wednesday
Worked hard all day long. Went to the battalion, to the 3rd Signal, and also went over to the 7th Infantry to see Walter Hansen. Cleaned up and wrote a letter home.
May 8, 1945 – Tuesday
We moved this morning to the other side of the river. I got me a nice house to set up in. Got straightened out. Worked hard all day. Listened to the radio and went to bed . The war will be over tonight at 1 minute after 12 o’clock.
Letter Home – May 7, 1945
Dear Mother & Dad;
Sorry to have been so long in writing but we have been on the go all of the time and I haven’t had time to do anything. Well the war over here is over for us. There is still a little fighting going on, but should end any day. The 3rd Div. put a fitting end to it’s career as it captured Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s home. I was up there, and there is nothing left of his home. I was down in the tunnels under his house. I picked up some souvenirs and will tell you more later about it. We have been celebrating by drinking Hitler’s champagne. Wish I could have sent a bottle home for you & dad but I can’t. Goodbye for now and don’t worry about me.
Love,
“Chick”
May 7, 1945 – Monday – Payday
I worked hard all day today. The war is practically over. Just a matter of hours. We celebrated and on Hitler’s Champagne. What a time we had. Went to bed early.
May 6, 1945 – Sunday
We left about 9:30 this morning for Salzburg. We didn’t get there until about 1:30 in the afternoon. I got partly set up. Listened to the radio and went to bed.
Eagles Nest, Hitlers Tea House
This day, Chick also continued up the mountain to the ‘Eagles Nest’. The Kehlsteinhaus was a chalet-style structure erected on a sub-peak of the Hoher Göll. It was built as an extension of the Obersalzberg complex erected in the mountains above Berchtesgaden as a retreat for Adolf Hitler, and a place for him to entertain visiting dignitaries.
These photo were taken by Chick at ‘Eagles Nest’
Posted in 1945, In his words
Tagged Adolf Hitler, Eagles Nest
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Color Postcard Photos of Hitler’s Home – The Berghof
Chick was some of the first to visit Hitler’s home near Berchtesgaden. 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. How Chick found these postcards in the tunnels below the home is described in an interview.
[sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”https://70yearsago.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hitlers-home-194504.mp3″]
Posted in 1945, In his words
Tagged Eagle Nest
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May 5, 1945 – Saturday
Was up early and took a few pictures around the town. In the afternoon I got a jeep and Riley and Schlad and I went up to Hitler’s home. The outside was completely demolished. I went down into his tunnel and it could never have been bombed out. They still had electric lights down in it. I got a few hand woven linens for Mom and some Champagne. Went to bed early as we are to move into Salzburg tomorrow.
May 4, 1945 – Friday
I had to change a flat this morning. Gas up and change the load on my trailer so I could get at some of the stuff. We are to move out this afternoon. We are headed for Saltzburg, Austria. The prisoners are coming in by divisions now. They are strung out along the road as far as you can see. We changed our plans and headed for Berchtesgaden. We got in about 10 o’clock. I prowled around until about 2 am and then went to bed. Every one was looting every store they could get into.
