A one of a kind, unique and very rare photographic narrative from the early days of the Third Reich!

[KSH]

I am truly honoured that my thread on this album telling the story of a postman, Postschutz-man and member of the SS (guard/bodyguard/mail courier in connection with Hitler's southern residence Haus Wachenfeld, later the Berghof) has been deemed worthy enough to become a pinned thread on this great forum. The research on this album is still ongoing (and I of course have some further thoughts about it which are still only in their infancy at this date), but I have not made any new breakthroughs just yet. I will of course update this thread if so happens.

Any new input or comments from the membership regarding this thread is always appreciated!


Regards,

Kenneth

[KSH]

I figured it was about time to add something more of historical interest pertaining to this photo album and as such I will tell a little story of defiance, a defiance that very possibly is vividly illustrated in one of the photographs of the album in question.

The story for our part starts in 1911, when a gentleman called Karl Schuster bought an old house in the Berchtesgaden region - a house that was called the Türkenhäusl ("the little Turkish house") by the locals in this area. Local legend says that the house was originally built by a veteran from the war against the Turks in 1683, the same war that of course culminated in the Siege of Vienna and the breaking of this siege by the Christian forces eventually. Vienna could well have been a Mohammedan city today had not this last defensive effort been successful, but that is another story. This is supposedly the origin of the local name, the Türkenhäusl. Karl Schuster converted the house into a guesthouse/hotel and named it Hotel zum Türken (which can roughly be translated as "The Hotel of the Turks"). The Hotel in its day was not a stranger to guests of high-society and was a very popular place to stay.

I spoke of a story of defiance and I will now elaborate on that. The property of the Hotel zum Türken was directly bordering the southern border of Hitler's personal property which his house Haus Wachenfeld (the later Berghof) was situated on. In fact Schuster's northernmost piece of property was directly opposite the eastern garden of Haus Wachenfeld, close to the drive-way - and as a consequence it was very much intruding on Hitler's privacy, something that is very evident, as Hitler tried numerous times to get Schuster to sell him this piece of land before he became the political leader of Germany. But as already insinuated, Karl Schuster refused to sell to Hitler - in fact it is also said about Karl Schuster that he to a certain degree was an outspoken critic of the National-Socialist movement.



Now to demonstrate the proximity between Haus Wachenfeld (in the photo converted into the Berghof) and the hotel:



This photo is later than the events that my album portrays, so only the relative proximity between the two properties and the outlined (in red) part of property that Schuster as long as he still could, refused to sell to Hitler, is meant to be illustrated here.



Unfortunately for Karl Schuster, his defiance had to come to an end in late 1933, when Hitler (and thus the state) seized the surrounding properties by force if necessary. Hitler had long wanted to get rid of many of his closest neighbors. The date of 1933 brings us finally to the photo album which this thread is dedicated to.




Here is the photo in question from my photo album:



A scene such as this must have irritated Hitler immensely. In a way the sheets and linens visible in the top left corner of the photo illustrate Karl Schuster's defiance in a most peculiar manner, if we are to interpret the image along those lines, which would not be unwarranted in my opinion. Karl Schuster, when still owner of the piece of land directly opposite Hitler's eastern garden used to hang all the newly washed sheets and linens to dry as close to Hitler's property as he could - one could almost say in his face. This photo shows this precise scenario and this photo was taken in August 1933 - so it must have been taken shortly before Hitler seized the adjacent properties - we can clearly tell that the property where the sheets and linens are drying is still Schuster's, because if we look closely we can see the fence separating his property and Hitler's property. I believed until I contacted Geoff Walden (who has studied the Obersalzberg/Berchtesgaden-land close to the Berghof closer than most I should believe) that the sheets and linens must have been Hitler's. But he immediately recognized that the sheets and linens were hanging on Schuster's property - this piece of information is the basis for this entire post as such, the little story of defiance.




So in the end Karl Schuster lost his fight with the Führer, as had to happen eventually. This is evident in the first photo in this post (showing the Berghof and the hotel with added arrows and information by me) showing the buildings after the takeover - Schuster having been forced out. The Hotel was after the seizure used for SS-purposes. In the bombing raids of 1945 intended to destroy all buildings used for "Nazi-purposes" in the region, the Hotel was severely damaged. But all is well, that ends well. In the end Schuster's daughter was able to purchase back the hotel (it is interesting to note that she did not get the property back from the government). The hotel was rebuilt and is today run by the granddaughter of Karl Schuster.


This is a modern photograph of the Hotel showing what it looks like nowadays:




I would not have been able to present this story had it not been for the research and kind assistance of Mr. Geoff Walden.




Regards,

Kenneth

[Scout]

Kenneth, excellent photos & info.
All your background info simply adds an extra invaluable dimension to the photo album.
I also really appreciate your tale of defiance along with your usual stellar research.....and a little help from your friends of course.

[Dean]

Very informative and historical. Thanks forthse who helped as well, I have been on this thread for nearly an hour! My Great Uncle Ramsay showed me some originalphotos yesterday of the inside of the Berghof.I hope this can add to your thread

[alifrafikkhan]

Hi KSH, I'm asking permission to post the Postschutz album you have A one of a kind, unique and very rare photographic narrative from the early days of the Third Reich! on my blog NAZI JERMAN and translate your caption to Indonesian language. The credit will be include to your name and also link to the original thread. Thank you in advance...

Note: My blog is apolitical blog and covered, mostly, of Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS...

Best regards,
Alif

[Adrian]

Kenneth is away from the forum currently. I have no idea when he might return so you might not get an answer for a long time.

I note you're the same person who has 'borrowed' images from several members here (including myself and Bill T to name just two) and posted them on your website. I should add that although I have been credited along with some other collectors who have 'provided' the images, we were not asked prior to them being used.

This is the reason why any images posted on the internet should be watermarked.