Now children………let’s control our emotions.
The hardest thing for most of us ‘ol-timers’ is the fact that time has passed us by. In that you must think like the “baby-boomer” citizens of Berchtesgaden think.
When WWII wound down and USAREUR “took-command” of all the Nazi real estate the German folk were struggling to get their feet on the ground. Many of the Germans were not supportive to the Nazi Party. They were puppets to the Reich. They kept their mouths shut and went with the flow. When you live under such control as the party had you play-roll your life in order to survive. You know, this is much like the lives of people in the Baltic’s, Poland and other such countries, that had to “play” the part or become a card carrying member of the Evil Empire.
I remember back in 1971 the Bavarian State Minestry came to Berchtesgaden and met with the AFRC-BRA staff. They handed us the “TITLE” to all the Nazi Property, which included 100% of the Obersalzburg. They literally wanted to “wash their hands” of the past. We, the Americans, were responsible for what ever became the property. The only property on the Obersalzburg that the US Army did not control was the Hotel Zum Turken. This property was relinquished to the original owners, who remained in Berchtesgaden after the war. A sergeant (name unknown) married the inn keeper’s daughter. When the owner died the sergeant and his wife remained at the Turken, and when I departed in 1974 they were still living there. The famous Kehlsteinhaus was given to the Bavarian Mountain Climbers Association. Had this not happened it was scheduled for demolition. Albert Speer's House was given back to the family. Most everything else was torn down. The Buchenhohe settlements were left to the people that worked for the Reich and were still living there at the end of the war. Bibi Finken’s parents were living in this area. That is how Bibi ended at the Walker working in the bar. He later ended working as assistant to Herr Kuttner in the dining room. As a reminder from Frau Rauscher, “Bibi Finken still lives in Berchtesgaden (around 60?) and he runs since a couple of years a very nice gasthaus "Holzkaefer" up the the Buchenhoehe (near General Walker), Phone 08652-62107.”
Now, to the present city council which is made-up of most of these “baby-boomers”, I believe they are not too proud of the past. Remember, it was their parents that either were died-in-the-wool members of the Nazi Party and/or just shuffled through life during the war. In their minds they believe the tearing down anything that was part of that era will make things better.
When the US Army left in 1995 the agreement with the Bavarian State Minestry reverted back to Munich. It was Munich that didn’t want the property some twenty-three years earlier. That is why “we”, the US Army, got the TITLE in the first place. Well, I gather Munich gave it back to the Berchtesgaden City Council order to “clean-up” the books, thus it became their “problem” and for them to do as they wish.
You know, I agree with all of you RAIDERS. I feel the same way. I don’t understand what the new people are thinking. I don’t know if things will work out for them. You have to remember, we were from the age of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Roberta “Killing Me Softly” Flack, and many more. We were the “baby-boomers”, of The Sexual Revolution, Flower Children and Pot Heads of yesterday. This city council is now the “CYBER-BOOMERS” of the 21st Century. I wish them the best. I hope and prey that everything they wish to accomplish will pan out.
In closing, I can only thank God for the times I had in Berchtesgaden. It was a “golden-era” for a small group of people. People that today only have memories of the past. A time that we all wish still exists. Let’s all respect each other and the times we spent there. Name calling, stereo-typing gets nothing done.