Quote on Rebecca Bowmann Windows Live

The lookout at the Mooslahnerkopf in the 1930's.

 

This is what the lookout at the Mooslahnerkopf (on the Obersalzberg)

looked like in 1939.

 

The Mooslahner Teehaus (teahouse) was located directly behind the

lookout. No trace of the teehaus remains today.

 

                 Lookout at the Mooslahnerkopf in 1939.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

Picture of Socrates on trial in Athens in 399 BC.

 

 

 

This picture is an artist's impression of Socrate's trial in Athens in 399 BC.

Socrates was on trial for undermining state religion and corrupting youth

( with his philosophical arguments ). He was 70 years of age at the time of his trial.

He gave a speech in his own defence, which was later 'published' by 

Plato, under the title of "The Apology " ( sometimes referred to as just "Apology "). 

Despite his defence speech, the jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to death.

 He accepted the death sentence philosophically, and rejected any suggestions of

trying to escape, and later drank a cup of hemlock (a poisonous plant ) handed

 to him by one of his guards.

Socrates today is regarded as one of the first exponents of critical philosophy,

 and to a lesser degree, an 'educational reformer'.

Other famous Greek philosophers were Plato and Aristotle.

 

                   The trial of Socrates

 

 

 

Quote (and pictures) on John20747's Place

Birgit Nilsson performs Richard Wagner's Tristan & Isolde at Bayreuth

 

Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson sung the role of Isolde

for ten seasons at Bayreuth, between 1957 and 1970.

 

Isolde is the female character in  Richard Wagner's

opera "Tristan und Isolde", and is considered by many to

be one of his finest works.

 

Birgit Nilsson also sang other Wagnerian characters at Bayreuth,

including Brunnhilde from Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods),

during the same period (1957 to 1970).

 

She performed in "Tristan und Isolde" at Bayreuth, the 'cultural center'

of Wagner's operas, in the following years (up to 1970) --

 

1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970.

 

 

 

The picture below shows Birgit Nilsson performing "Tristan und Isolde"

at Bayreuth in 1962.

 

Birgit Nilsson performing Tristan und Isolde  at Bayreuth in 1962.

 

 

The next picture shows her singing the role of Brunnhilde, from "Twilight

of the Gods" in 1965.

 

Birgit Nilsson as Brunnhilde, in "Twilight of the Gods" at Bayreuth, 1965.

 

Clearly one of the great sopranos of the 20th Century, Birgit Nilsson

died in Sweden (in 2005) at the age of 87.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

"India" tyres advert. from 1949.

 

This advert for "India" car tyres appeared in the November 18 th,

1949 edition of the car magazine The Autocar.

 

According to the advert, India  tyres were "the finest tyres made".

 

India tyres advert.

 

                              India tyres advert. from 1949.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote (and picture) on John Barnes Blogsite

Picture of the Paricutin volcano in Mexico in 1944.

 

I posted this picture a few years ago, but because I stored the original

picture on an MSN Group site, the picture disappeared when MSN Groups

closed down earlier this year.

 

I found the picture and scanned it again. It's now stored on a Multiply  site.

There have been a relatively large number of searches for the Paricutin

volcano, so I decided it was essential to get the picture back again.

 

According to the story, a Mexican farmer from the village of Paricutin was

ploughing his field in 1943, when he heard a rumbling sound behind him.

He looked around and saw a spiral of white smoke. The volcano virtually

arose from what was a flat piece of ground.

By 1944, it had reached the height seen in the picture.

 

Paricutin volcano

                        Paricutin volcano, Mexico, 1944.

 

 

 

                   

 

 

Quote on JOHN BARNES BLOGSITE

Eva Braun's home movies, DVD Volume 2, by Kiefer Entertainment

 

On the DVD cover of Volume 2 of Eva Braun's home movies,

the running time is given as 104 minutes. This is not correct,

as the running time is in fact 144 minutes.

 

Volume 2 starts off with Eva Braun's 1939 cruise to Norway,

with friends and family. They travel aboard the "Milwaukee" of the

Hamburg - Amerika Linie (Line).

 

The first 26 minutes of the DVD are taken up with this cruise (including

the return to the port of Hamburg).

As they leave Hamburg, they pass the "Strength through Joy" cruise ship

the Robert Ley, named after the man in charge of the German Labor Front.

(See picture below).

 

"Strength through Joy" cruise ship the Robert Ley in Hamburg harbour, 1939.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, there are 10 minutes of military footage showing generals inspecting

troops in the snow, including General Manstein.This has nothing to do with

Eva Braun's home movies, and the film was obviously added to the home movies

footage by mistake.

 

 

At 030:39:29 on the Dvd player counter, we see Herta Schneider with her two young

girls on the Berghof terrace. The girls are then seen playing on the terrace and the

lawn adjacent to the terrace for the next 13 minutes. (The younger girl has obviously

just learned to walk, and almost topples over a couple of times).

 

 

040:45:31 - Hitler's personal orderly and bodyguard, Karl Wilhelm Krause, is seen

with one of the children on the trrrace. He was dismissed in 1939. (See picture below).

 

                Karl Wilhelm Krause on the Berghof terrace.

 

 

 

 

040:52:00 - 050:54:34.

 

A group of people in a number of cars drive up to the entrance tunnel to

the Kehlsteinhaus lift (elevator), and are then seen at the newly completed

Kehlsteinhaus ( in late 1938).

 

The picture below shows one of the cars on the Kehlstein road. The guttering

on the left has been completed, but the safety rails on the right have not yet

been installed.

 

Done

         One of the cars on the Kehlstein Road in late 1938.

 

The next picture shows some of the group standing outside the entrance

to the tunnel that leads to the large lift (elevator).

 

 

Group of people outside the tunnel that leads to the lift (elevator).

 

To get to the Kehlsteinhaus, it is necessary to walk 126 metres down

this tunnel to get to the lift which  rises 124 metres to the Kehlsteinhaus.

 

 

 

 

05:100:05 - 06:107:30

 

Scenes from Gretl Braun's wedding to Hermann Fegelein in June 1944.

From the wedding ceremony in Salzburg, to the reception parties at the

Obersalzberg, and up at the Kehlsteinhaus.

 

Gretl Braun (now Gretl Fegelein) left Salzburg in the car pictured below -

a  Mercedes soft top bearing the Bavarian licence plate number IIB -170133.

 

Gretl Braun's wedding car IIB-170133 leaving Salzburg in 1944.

 

 

The next picture is a rear-view of Gretl's wedding car on the way

to the Obersalzberg.

 

         Rear view of Gretl's wedding car IIB-170133.

 

 

The third picture shows Gretl Braun (now Gretl Fegelein) emerging from

the wedding vehicle.

 

      Gretl Braun (now Fegelein), emerging from the wedding car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward to 2009:

 

The old Guest House on the Obersalzberg has been converted to a

"Documentation Centre" covering the past history (the Hitler period) of

the Obersalzberg, including pictures and scale models of the Berghof

and other buildings. (Obviously this is not part of Eva Braun's home movies,

but it's relevant because the majority of visitors to the Obersalzberg stayed

in the Guest House. It was converted into an information and documentation

centre for tourists only recently).

 

The picture below shows the documentation centre today, and stands on the same

site as the old Guest House which was still standing in the 1990's

 The Information and Documentation Center on the Obersalzberg

stands on the site of the old Guest House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

Transporting the Trinity Site bomb (The Gadget) to the tower

 

The Picture below shows the transporter used to move the Trinity Site

test bomb to its detonation tower, near Alamogordo in New Mexico in 1945.

The bomb was codenamed "the gadget", and was a plutonium 'atomic' bomb.

 

The transporter consisted of a platform supported by 8 rows of 8 wheels

(64 wheels in total), drawn by a tractor.

 

 

Trinity Site test bomb transporter.

  The transporter used for the Trinity Site test bomb. Note the 8 rows of 8 wheels.

   The large plutonium bomb was so heavy, it required the massive portable platform

    to move it to the tower site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next picture is a front view of the transporter, showing the tractor, and an extra

tractor in case of a mechanical breakdown. The transporter was accompanied by

troops in jeeps.

 

 

 

 Trinity Site test bomb transporter - front view.

   Front view showing a tractor hauling the bomb mounted on a 64 wheel platform.

   Note the stand-by tractor on the right.

 

 

 

The third picture shows the tower where the massive bomb was successfully detonated

on July 16, 1945, just before dawn. The bomb is located inside the hut on top of the

tower. The detonation marked the world's first atomic bomb explosion.

 

 

Bomb tower where "The Gadget" was detonated on July 16, 1945.

 

 

 

The bomb was a product of the Manhatten Project, and most of the Los

Alamos scientists who developed the bomb were present at the detonation,

including the technical supervisor J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The man in overall charge of the project, General Leslie Groves, was also

present.

 

The secrecy of the Manhatten Project was so tight, that, according to physicist

Robert Christy, none of the scientists present at the test site that day, had any idea

that another atomic bomb (a uranium bomb codenamed "Little Boy") had already

been shipped out to the Pacific area with the intention of dropping it on a Japanese

city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

More pictures from Eva Braun's home movies DVD Volume 1

 

I've already covered Eva Braun's home movies DVD number 1 [by Kiefer] ,

in the previous posting, but because I'd reached my limit of text and pictures

for that posting, I have been forced to start another posting in order to

clear up the remaining pictures seen on DVD volume 1.

The last picture posted was the 'lederhosen man' with Eva Braun on the

Berghof terrace. "Lederhosen" is a Bavarian outfit for men, and consists of

short leather trousers with shoulder straps, and is worn with long socks.

 

 

Carrying on from the DVD counter numbers -

 

 

010:14:35 -Martin Bormann's house on the Obersalzberg, as seen through

a window at the Berghof. (See picture below).

 

 

The house at the top of the picture belongs to Martin Bormann. (Seen

through a window at the Berghof).

 

 

 

020:16:15 - The lookout at the Mooslahnerkopf. The teehaus is directly

behind the lookout.

 

                 Lookout at the Mooslahnerkopf.

 

 

 

The picture below is an external view of the teehaus (teahouse) on

the Mooslahner-Kopf.

Done

          Teehaus on the Mooslahner-Kopf, behind the lookout.

 

Inside the circular section, there is a central table surrounded by

floral covered armchairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

040:48:48 - SS man Karl Wolff (in civilian clothes), at the Berghof with

Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich. (see picture below).

From left - Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and high-ranking

SS man Karl Wolff (wearing civilian clothes), on the terrace at the Berghof.

Wolff survived the war (unlike the other two), and died in 1984.

 

Heydrich was assassinated in June, 1942, and replaced by the sinister

looking Ernst Kaltenbrunner who was sentenced to death at Nuremberg

in 1946 for crimes against humanity.

 

 

 

 

040:58:37 - Secretaries Christa Schroder [Schroeder](left), and Gerda

Daranowski (later Gerda Christian), on the terrace at the Berghof (see picture below).

Gerda Daranowski married Eckhard Christian in 1943.

 

Prior to that, Daranowski had a relationship with Erich Kempka, Hitler's chauffeur,

which seems to have gone no futher than an engagement (despite claims

that she was actually married to Kempka).

 

 

Christa Schroder [Schroeder] (left), and Gerda Daranowski [Gerda Christian].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

051:08:30 - Dr. Karl Brandt and Frau Gerda Bormann on the terrace wall of

the Berghof. Dr. Brandt was one of Hitler's personal doctors. He was a tall

good-looking man, and quite young (compared to Hitler's other doctors).

(See picture below).

Karl Brandt was executed (hanged) at Landsberg prison in 1948, following

a war crimes trial in Nuremberg, for his part in an organized euthanasia

program, and for medical experimentation on prisoners during the war.

 

 

 

Dr. Brandt (centre) and Gerda Bormann on the terrace wall

at the Berghof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

051:09:30 - Close-up of secretary Christa Schroeder on the Berghof

terrace (see picture below).

 

Done

     Christa Schroder [Schroeder] on the Berghof terrace.

 

In April 1945, Christa Schroeder would return to the Berghof

(from Berlin) with Julius Schaub, to destroy Hitler's private papers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

051:10:57 - Hitler's secretaries Johanna Wolf (left) and Gertraud

"Traudl" Junge on the Berghof terrace (see picture below).

 

        Johanna Wolf (left) and Traudl Junge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

071:28:37 - Start of various scenes from Gretl Braun's wedding

to Hermann Fegelein at Salzburg, in June 1944.

The picture below shows, from the left - Heinrich Himmler, Hermann

Fegelein, and Gretl Braun. The wedding took place in Salzburg, but there

was a reception party held at the Kehlsteinhaus (seen on DVD No.2).

 

 

 

Done

Gretl Braun's wedding ceremony to Hermann Fegelein at Salzburg, 1944.

From left - Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Fegelein, Gretl Braun (now Gretl Fegelein).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julius Schaub.

 

Julius Schaub, one of Hitler's adjutants, appears a number of times on

DVD volume 1.

 

The picture below shows Julius Schaub in 1939 (wearing his SS uniform).

At the time, Wilhelm Bruckner (right), was the Chief Adjutant. After Bruckner was

dismissed in 1940, Schaub was appointed chief adjutant.

 

On April 22, 1945, Schaub was dispatched  to Munich, and then to the

Obersalzberg, to destroy Hitler's personal papers, before the Allies arrived.

Secretary Christa Schroder [Schroeder] witnessed Schaub douse a heap

of papers piled up near the flagpole at the Berghof with petrol (gasoline),

and then set the pile ablaze.

 

 

                                     Julius Schaub (left).

 

                       Wilhelm Bruckner is on the right.

 

 

 

 

Hilde Speer

 

Hilde Speer is the daughter of Albert Speer (Hitler's architect ).

Today, she remembers virtually nothing about her time on the

Obersalzberg as a young girl. (The same applies to her brothers,

Albert Speer Jnr., and Arnold Speer.

 

Below: Hilde Speer in 1939, and below that, as she appears today

(now Hilde Schramm).

 

Hilde Speer in the greenhouse, 1939. 

 

           Hilde Speer in the Obersalzberg greenhouse - Easter 1939.

 

 

 

 

 

Done

                Hilde Speer today (now Hilde Schramm).

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested reading:  "Inside the Third Reich" by Albert Speer.

 

                                       "He was my Chief " by Christa Schroeder (now available in English).

 

                                       "Until The Final Hour" by Traudl Junge.

 

                                       "The Third Reich Then And Now"  by Tony Le Tissier (2005).  This is

                                         a large, expensive book, with 480 pages, and hundreds of black &

                                         white photographs. If you're lucky, you might be able to pick this one

                                         up from a second-hand book shop for $100.

                                         Produced by the same people who publish the high quality British

                                         magazine "After the Battle".

                                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A brief summary of DVD Volume 1.

 

. Running time : 113 minutes.

. Contains scenes from the years 1938 to 1944.

. Many scenes are of Eva Braun's best friend Herta Schneider.

. Some scenes inside the Berghof are so dark it's impossible to identify all the people in the room.

. People who don't appear in Volume 1 include Reinhard Spitzy, Unity Mitford, and Paul Schmidt.

. The majority of the scenes on the Berghof terrace are of reasonable to good quality.

. Eva's sisters Gretl and Ilse appear a number of times in Volume 1.

 

 

 

I have shown pictures of the following people :-

 

Fritz & Fanny Braun

Gretl Braun and her mother

Herta Schneider and husband

Ilse Braun

Wilhelm Bruckner

Martin Bormann & Adolf Wagner

Eva Braun, Fritz Braun, Fanny Braun, Gretl Braun.

"Punktchen" at the Berghof.

Frau Inge Ley

Frau Hanni Morell and von Ribbentrop

Eva Braun with the Speer and Bormann children.

Franx Xaver Schwarz, Frau Schwarz, Eva Braun.

Eva Braun with the "Lederhosen man".

Heinrich Hoffmann and Baldur von Schirach

Hilde Speer

Fraulein Sofie Stork and Frau Morell

Erich Kempka and Sepp Diethrich

Eva Braun and Herta Schneider

Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, Karl Wolff

Christa Schroeder and Gerda Christian

Dr. Karl Brandt and Gerda Bormann

Christa Schroeder

Johanna Wolf and Traudl Junge

Himmler, Hermann Fegelein, Gretl Braun

Julius Schaub