Original Item: Only One Available. As the saying goes, "To the Victor belong the Spoils", and it was not long after V-E day that a steady stream of souvenir items began to flow out of Germany to be sold on the U.S. market. Berlin had been thoroughly bombed out, and was also in the Soviet area of occupation, which complicated things. The Obersalzberg and Berchtesgaden areas however had been taken and bombed by U.S. forces, and were quickly made into a U.S. Military base, which remained operational until 1995. This resulted in a large source of memorabilia related to the "top brass" of the NSDAP.

This is a lovely cast metal model fireplace, which measures about 6 1/4"W x 5 1/2"W x 1 1/4"W, and it contains a small piece of marble from the hearth at Adolf H's retreat Der Berghof. The top of the hearth is inscribed with the following message:

FLICK YOUR ASHES ON HI**ER'S HEARTH

The bottom of the hearth contains an entire description of the item:

THIS IS AN EXACT COPY OF THE FIREPLACE IN HI**ER'S FORMER HOME AT BERCHTESGADEN FROM WHICH THE MARBLE PIECE INSET ABOVE IS AN ACTUAL PART TAKEN FROM THERE ONE MONTH AFTER V-E DAY.

These were made by The Weatherhead Company beginning in 1946, and were most likely available through their catalog at the time. There is a worn label printed on the back in white type, which originally read:

Document

The marble piece contained in this ashtray miniature
of the fireplace in Hi**er's former home, Der Berghof
at Berchtesgaden, Germany, is an actual part of the
original hearth located in the drawing room of that
infamous dwelling. The marble was taken from those
premises through the personal efforts of the undersigned
in June, 1945 while they in Europe on a technical
war assignment. - Their signatures are offered in
testimony of the authenticity of this souvenir.

Albert. J. Weatherhead, Jr.

George H. Hufferel

Fredericken Bock

Compliments of The Weatherhead Company

The hearth is in very good condition, looking to be made from possibly anodized or plated aluminum, and would be a great addition to any U.S. WWII home front collection. It even has felt washers on the bottom, so it probably saw some real use in the past, but since then was cleaned to remove any tobacco residue on the top. Ready to display!

Long an "alpine retreat" area for the Bavarian nobility, in the 1920s NSDAP Party Leader A H began vacationing in the area. He purchased a home in Obersalzberg in the 1930s, and would then begin work on the famous Berghof mountain retreat. As other top Third Reich figures, such as Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Heinrich Himmler, and Albert Speer, began to frequent the area the Party began to purchase and requisition land in the Obersalzberg.

The entire area was upgraded and improved to better serve as an outpost of the Reichskanzlei (Imperial Chancellery), with required improvements to infrastructure and roads. A barracks for the SS was built, to serve as a guard for the high command of the NSDAP. Rumors were also spread as part of a propaganda plan regarding an "Alpine Redoubt" for the leadership to retreat to before fleeing the country. While these were never acted on, the Allies were concerned enough that bombing runs were launched against the mountain retreat in April 1945, which heavily damaged the Berghof and other buildings in the area. It would later be captured by U.S. forces, with little to no resistance.