The Eagle's Nest: Nazism, Totalitarianism, Tourism
Dan Taylor
Issue date: 10/26/05 Section: features
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Versus Magazine Online [Image based format]
Perched high atop an alpine peak, near the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden, is one of the most famous, and infamous, houses in the world. The Eagle's Nest-Adolf Hitler's personal mountain retreat-sits amid swirling clouds and affords a breathtaking view of the picturesque countryside and the Königsee, a pristine alpine lake that is famous for its incredibly placid surface. It was here that the Führer contemplated many of the Third Reich's most heinous crimes; it was here that he intimidated foreign heads of state to accede to his megalomaniacal whims, and it is here that thousands of tourists flock every year, anxious to experience natural grandeur and to contemplate the history of the place. Last July, I was one of these tourists.
The Eagle's Nest compound was designed by Martin Bormann and given to Hitler as a gift for his fiftieth birthday. The House itself typifies the Nazis' obsession with superiority. It was built, quite literally, on a mountain peak, and it towers above the countryside. It is constructed completely from stone, and it gives a sense of the solidity and security that the Nazis tried so hard, but ultimately failed, to achieve. As a student of history and of the German language, I felt a particular desire during my semester in Europe to make the four-hour train ride to Germany's extreme southeastern border and take in this building that so profoundly and horrifically shaped the 20th century.
My journey to the Eagle's Nest began at the train station in the adjacent town of Berchtesgaden, where a rather obvious sign directed me to a bus that would ferry me to the Eagle's Nest tourist center. The tourist center is at the base of the mountain that the house crowns, and it is complete with the souvenirs, t-shirts, and knickknacks that one would expect to find at a tourist destination. I declined making a purchase-I had a feeling that drinking from an overpriced "Eagle's Nest" mug could potentially mar the otherwise pleasant act of downing a fine German beer with unseemly historical memories.