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German and Allies WWII Propaganda & Militaria
Lot 271:
Two Chairs from the Haus Wachenfeld:Two chairs from Haus Wachenfeld which later became The Berghof Adolf Hitlers home on theObersalzburg, Berchtesgaden.The Berghof began as a much smaller chalet called Haus Wachenfeld, a holiday home built in 1916 (or1917) by Kommerzienrat Otto Winter, a businessman from Buxtehude. This was located near the formerPension Moritz where Hitler had stayed in 1922–23. By 1926, the family running the pension had left, and Hitler did not like the new owner. He moved first to the Marineheim and then to a hotel inBerchtesgaden, the Deutsch’s Haus, where he dictated the second volume of Mein Kampf in the summerof 1926. Hitler met his girlfriend at that time, Maria Reiter, who worked in a shop on the ground floor ofthe hotel during another visit in autumn 1926. In 1928, Winter’s widow rented Haus Wachenfeld to Hitler, and his half-sister Angela came to live there as housekeeper, although she left soon after her daughterGeli’s 1931 death in Hitler’s Munich apartment.By 1933, Hitler had purchased Haus Wachenfeld with funds he received from the sale of his politicalmanifesto Mein Kampf. The small chalet-style building was refurbished and much expanded by architectAlois Degano during 1935–36, when it was renamed The Berghof (English: "Mountain Court").The chairs come with a letter from Robert Brandner who was a local historian and lived all his life inBerchtesgaden. It’s in the German language and has the impressed Berchtesgaden Castle mark along withthe wax seal. The English translation is listed below:I Robert Brandner hereby confirm that these chairs come from the house Wachenfeld owned by AdolfHitler, according to the last owners the chairs. During the first conversion the workers involved wereallowed to take the chairs. The now relatives of the workers had also received a table which wasdestroyed in the 1980s. They also received a peasant table and two chairs which were sold to an Americancollector and went to the USA. The property Manager of the Berghof Mr. Dohring knew of 3 differentstyles of the peasant chairs that were almost identical. The colour of the chairs and design is untouched onthese chairs.Herbert Döhring was an SS member and from 1935 to 1943 was Hitlers caretaker at the Berghof. Döhringwas appointed to Obersalzberg, where he first worked as a telephone operator and guard post in the oldWachenfeld house.The chairs have their original green paint and hand-painted floral pattern, typically Bavarian. The legs arenicely turned, and the quality is very high with all fittings being wooden, not a single screw or nail hasbeen used, very typical German/Austrian country craftsmanship of the 20s and 30s. Chairs are heavy andsit very even on the floor. In the detailed photos there is a photo of Hitler sitting in the Wachenfeld house, there are similar peasant chairs close by him.The chairs are in the found condition. Restoration would have to be performed by a skilled craftsman asall the floral design would need to be hand-painted.Two historic chairs that survived WW2 by circumstance. The letter from Mr. Brandner offers highassurance of their origins.
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