Hitler's Secret Nazi Palace: Then and Now

[@roncoleman8351]

The white jacketed SS officer at 5:30 is Max Wunsche, who commanded the ceremonial guard at Hitler’s Berghof and later became his SS adjutant. He fought in the 1940 French campaign, the Greek and Yugoslavian campaigns, the Russian campaign, and commanded the 12th SS Panzer Regiment of the 12th SS “Hitlerjugend” Division in Normandy, where he was captured in the Falaise Pocket. When I was stationed in West Germany with the US Army in the mid-1980’s I had the opportunity (long story) to meet Wunsche. Fascinating character.

[@richardgolger5808]

You met Max Wünsche in the 80s and he was a free man? Very interesting! And an incredible twist, as Wünsche surely was in (too) close proximity to war crimes of LSSAH in russia and elsewhere and by the 12th SS Panzerdivision in Normandy! Compared with Rudolf Hess, who was in british captivity since may 10th 1941 and then setenced to (real) life imprisonment at the Nürnberg trials, Wünsche got away much too easy. But how about sharing your experience with a larger community?! - I am sure it would be a great thing to learn more about what Wünsche had to say to an American in the '80s!

[@stevenconnolly7907]

Are you sure he was SS Adjutant? It's my understanding Otto Gunche was SS Adjutant remaining in his post until his capture in Berlin by the Soviets in 1945 where he was imprisoned, badly treated and released in 1950.

[@petebondurant58]

@@stevenconnolly7907 Wünsche provided such a position until he departed for military service in 1940.

[@daniel_sc1024]

In 1938 Max Wunsche joined the SS bodyguard unit that was part of the Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), and assigned as an orderly to Hitler. In 1940 he was made platoon commander in an LSSAH motorcycle company for the invasion of The Netherlands and France. At the end of 1940 he was made adjutant to Sepp Dietrich for the invasion of the Balkans and the Soviet Union. In '42 he was given command of an LSSAH assault gun command battalion. In '43 Wunsche was given command of a battalion in an LSSAH panzer regiment that saw action on the Eastern Front. In June '43 he was transferred to France and took command of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment, part of the newly formed 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend (which was named that since most of the enlisted were recruited from the Hitler Youth). After the Normandy invasion, the division was trapped and Wunsche was taken prisoner by the British; he spent the remainder of the war in a Scottish prisoner of war camp; he was released in 1948.

[@johnricketts4732]

Thank you, your videos are wonderfully put together and always a pleasure to watch.

[@POEMS466]

These events are almost beyond living memory. Thank you so much for sharing this important video!

[@1psychofan]

Audie Murphy is my hero. Born into extreme poverty, abandoned by his worthless father and left to hunt rabbits to feed his family, yet, he earned every award for bravery our country gives…before he was old enough to vote. Just wow!

[@AL71B]

A casino!! That’s shocking for such a beautiful building.

[@daniakalaina]

Many casinos in Europe are in beautiful buildings

[@dale1956ties]

I really appreciate your Then and Now videos. I'm just guessing, & maybe hoping, that there are enough photos and still from films that you can use to make many more of these. They feel like instant classics to me. Thanks as always.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

I’d think there would be enough wartime T&N content to do this for a good while yet, and I’ve got other plans to develop it so hopefully still lots more to come!

[@dale1956ties]

@@WW2Wayfinder Oh good! I'll be looking forward to any content you care to produce. I'm a fan and will always offer a hearty "Well done".

[@KevinSmith-yh6tl]

Very enjoyable. Thank you for the tour. Looking forward for the next.

[@Liam-y1m9j]

Thank you for such an entertaining and informative presentation! I enjoyed it very much!🤗

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@colmcc-ij3nn]

Bloody marvellous .Attention to detail is astounding .Well done man 😮

[@JohnViinalass-lc1ow]

you have given us another top-drawer post, here...thank you...go on, good man

[@renatovicenziofrancesconis4476]

Estimado, saludos... tu trabajo es muy ilustrativo, sumamente gráfico y muy bien explicado. Realmente has hecho una labor tan notable, como profesional. En el 13:15, señalas que habían en ese palacio, muchas condecoraciones del Tercer Reich y que fueron presa fácil para las tropas estadounidenses... ¡¡Por favor... yo hubiera hecho lo mismo!!...¡¡Llevarme a casa, como trofeo, una Cruz de Hierro del Caballero... con hojas de roble, espadas y diamantes!!... Y una Luger, por supuesto. Uff... soñar no cuesta nada. Felicitaciones, estimado. Tu gran trabajo, ha sido de todo mi gusto. No tengo palabras para resaltar lo fantástico e ilustrativo que ha sido este video. Muchas gracias...aplausos, suscripción y like, desde Concepción, Chile.-🤝👍🤜🤛👏🇨🇱

[@careycraig4360]

Excellent Video, Excellent Narrative!!

[@clarkkoch4723]

Thoroughly enjoyed this presentation. Great history. The photos of Audie Murphy were great to see.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Glad you liked it! The Audie Murphy image with the CO of the 3rd ID before his medal ceremony is great isn’t it! Hard to be elbow he was stood on that very spot

[@bettylaselli2048]

​@@WW2Wayfinder this channel is the best! You are the number one! Thanks for sharing this amazing video! God bless you 🎉❤

[@mikehall5815]

Thank you for this one. Audie Murphy was my dad's hero. Sometime after the war my dad met him. My father even had a picture taken with the man. Unfortunately I didn't think it was a big deal. I wish I would have taken better care of those thing's from the past. Any movie he was in and was on TV back in the day, WE HAD TO WATCH! 🤣 Great job again.

[@eamo106]

Excellent post as usual Wayfinder !

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@NDB469]

This is cool! Thanks for taking some time during your work trip to do a little content for the fans!

[@dougkruse1301]

Sure hope you continue making these very interesting videos. Thank you.

[@bangkokney8708]

Another excellent vlog Jon, thank you. I had never heard of this place, and, on my next visit to Berchtesgaden, I'll be sure to look around it.

[@VFRSTREETFIGHTER]

Great video, thanks for making it.

[@jupite1888]

Always Fantastic Videos

[@timalexander7758]

Really, really enjoy what you do! Thank you from Birmingham Alabama!

[@edwardrodgers9383]

Very interesting!🇦🇺🦘

[@masterson25]

Łapka w górę za świetne materiały 😊 I plus duży za polskie napisy.Niektóre słowa ciężko mi zrozumieć a dzięki temu mogę się w języku podszkolić trochę

[@TI4438]

Thanks to my father, Audie Murphy and George Patton were know to me long before any athletes or other celebrities. I was brought up to respect our veterans. Impossible not to considering my Grandfather was posthumously awarded the MOH during the Korean War.

[@debbiemichaels4632]

Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier in WW2.

[@1psychofan]

Audie is the most decorated soldier in U.S. history. Earning EVERY award for bravery we offer before he was old enough to vote. Just wow!

[@1psychofan]

Absolutely excellent episode ❤ really love my hero Audie Murphy …. His life is a study, an inspiration, just wow! What a man!

[@RobertEHunt-dv9sq]

Fantastic video. Your presentation is superb. I really need to get back to that region and do some more exploring. Keep up the excellent documentaries. Thanks for saving the history. Cheers from Texas.

[@johnofbrabant]

Your content is so great. Thanks for this very interesting video 🙏

[@steveb5341]

Great vid mate! Some stunning locations around that property 👏🏻🪖

[@richardgolger5808]

A very informative contribution again! There are many things i hadn't heared of, even as i am Austrian and very interested and well informed about those times! - Never heared of, that Hitler used Schloss Kleßheim that much back then. - And the people of Salzburg surely don't tell too much about their closeness to AH nowadays (Salzburg as a federal state of Austria had the highest percentage of "Yes" votes in the "Anschluss"- referendum of april 1938 with close to 99%...). The staffcar which had been taken over/liberated would be an interesting video on it's own! If it weren't for Hitlers preferation of Mercedes cars, those maybe wouldn't had been the first choice of luxurx cars back then. Horch (830s/831s) would have been 1st choice... Later the 101st came to the Obersalzberg, Salzburg and on to the "Salzkammergut". This would make a great theme for a video too - the 101st in the Salzkammergut, Bad Aussee and Altaussee! In the late 1970s the Austrian journalists Hugo Portisch and Sepp Riff made a TV - series and book calles "Österreich II", which explained how the modern Austria came into existance after the war. Ihe whole contribution showed the actions that led from the collapse of the Austro - Hungarian Monarchy through the 1st Austrian Republic to the Anschluss, the 2nd world war and then through the 10 years of allied occupation, into the independence of the 2nd Austrian Republic. It contains a lot of foto a d film footage from every side from every source and is available on cd too. This could provide you with a lot of pictures and information for your videos, i guess! For instance, how the Americans found some of the treasures of Austria and the whole Europe in the salt mines of Altaussee, or the capture of Kaltenbrunner by US military and CIC agents in 1946. There also were several large Wehrmacht and SS units, who surrendered in the area. The infamous Ebensee Concentration camp is close too, where the men of "Aktion Bernhard" stranded and the Marineversuchsanstalt Toplitzsee, where those Pound - notes of Aktion Bernhard had been sunk, is very close there too! (There is even a WW2 plane Wreck still in the depths of the lake) Maybe think of doing videos on these, as this is widely unknown!

[@andrewhemingway337]

I’ve joined you Patreon

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! I really appreciate it. I’ll drop you a message on there😃

[@dankorolyk5917]

Nicely done Jon

[@TribeTaz]

That first photo and the photo of Murphy were more favorites. Your Now & Then videos are the best on You Tube

[@Spearhead-lz1oq]

Superb! Makes me want to go back there. Visited in 1988 to visit "Sound of Music." locations. No internet, and limited access to English language books back then. The fatal crash site of Audie Murphy's plane in in the Virginia woods not far from one of my favorite hotels. Will have to visit next time.

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

Nice work.

[@willjohnson1273]

Another great presentation

[@JohnBennett-cw1ri]

One of those channels where you automatically click like before you watch.

[@stefaniecosme4774]

I Totally Agree, Cuz I do the Same Thing!

[@JohnBennett-cw1ri]

@@stefaniecosme4774 😀

[@edwardsp1916]

Fascinating video, thank you.

[@duanelawrence78]

I love your videos brother God bless you!!✌️🇺🇲

[@jas_1959]

Nice, Jon well done ✅

[@robertvirtue]

Very Nice. Thank-you

[@ncwoodworker]

Accombinating that German staff car was brilliant.

[@stephenhill560]

Fascinating as always

[@richardbouchard1716]

Exceptional!

[@joemabry9643]

Thank you.

[@jas_1959]

Thanks!

[@mlk4kna]

Excellent 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@stevenconnolly7907]

Another hotel wayfinder similar to this fine property would be Hotel Adlon in Berlin. Adjacent to the Brandenburg Gate it was a product of Kaiser Wilheim II era that became a social, political and diplomatic centerpiece of Berlin from the 1920s all throughout the war. It survived but was damaged by the Soviet occupation of East Berlin. Rebuilt in 1997 and expanded in 2003 to its original luxurious standards I think the property is largely ignored for historical purposes. I think this great channel could do some real justice here. 🌆

[@maryholder3795]

Salsburg always felt like the town of song and music. Von Trappe family, Mozart, in the beautiful serene mountains. But in fact you videos Then and Now shows us the darker side of the surrounding area. All of whom where people who committed war crimes against their enemy, civilians, resistance fighters, soldiers, and in the concentration camps. Beauty ( the area) and the Beast ( the people)

[@oldtop4682]

That would be the guidon of the 1st of the 10th Field Artillery Battalion. The last vestiges of which were deactivated a about 9 years ago. Quite a storied unit btw. The M101A1 Howitzer was still taught in the late 70s and early 80s. Normally, this was the first gun one learned in Artillery school back then. The military retired the M101 in the late 80s.

[@Mag_Aoidh]

Appears to be M10s or M36s in the background of your artillery shot.

[@timothyfinn905]

good stuff.

[@marionjohansson4235]

Enjoy these, thank you.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

My pleasure! Hopefully something a little different too given the palace’s unique history!

[@andyandy4306]

I want to come with you…love your videos

[@MH-fb5kr]

which liberation of 1945 are you referencing?

[@ronalddesiderio7625]

Cool 😎 👍🏾

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@davidwillis4839]

Colonel Charles Patrick Murray, Jr. (26 September 1921 - 12 August 2011) was a retired U.S. Army officer and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during World War II. He also fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Charles Patrick Murray, Jr. was born on 26 September 1921 in Baltimore, MD. At age one, Murray's family moved to Wilmington, NC. After graduating from Wilmington's New Hanover High School in 1938, he attended the University of North Carolina. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942, after his third year of college. Arriving in northeastern France in October 1944, Second Lieutenant Murray was assigned as a replacement platoon leader to Company C of the 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. The division had landed in Saint-Tropez on the southern coast of France months earlier and was pushing northward towards Germany. On 8 December 1944, Murray became Company Commander. Early on 16 December, Company C crossed the Weiss River in the northern Vosges Mountains and established a defensive position atop Hill 512, just south of the village of Kaysersberg. Later that morning, Murray, now a First Lieutenant, led a platoon-sized group on a reconnaissance mission to the southeast, towards Ammerschwihr. Descending the vineyard-covered hill along a winding footpath, the group noticed German soldiers in a sunken road, about 150 yards away, firing on an American hilltop position. Creeping forward to a point from which he could see the 200-man German unit, Murray made a radio call for artillery support. When the artillery landed slightly off target, he attempted to call for a range correction but the radio went dead. Not wanting to send his patrol against the much larger German force, he retrieved rifle grenades from his men and returned to his vantage point to begin a single-handed attack on the position. Although his fire alerted the Germans to his location, he continued to shoot grenades and later an automatic rifle into the German unit. As the soldiers attempted to withdraw, he disabled a truck which was carrying out three mortars. Members of his patrol brought up their own mortar, and Murray directed its fire until the Germans had scattered towards Ammerschwihr. Continuing on the footpath, he and his men captured ten German soldiers. An eleventh soldier approached him with his helmet off and his arms raised. As Murray turned to shout orders, the soldier tossed a grenade; the explosion knocked Murray to the ground and sent eight pieces of shrapnel into his left leg. After getting back to his feet, he stopped his men from killing the prisoner. Only after organizing the patrol into a defensive position did he turn over command of the company and find an aid station. After receiving medical treatment, Murray rejoined his unit on 28 December 1944. He learned that he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor in March of 1945 and, per Army policy, was soon removed from combat. He remained with his division and was in Salzburg, Austria, on 7 May 1945, when a ceasefire was declared. The next day, Germany's surrender was finalized and the war in Europe was over

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🎖️🏆⭐🙏❤️‍🩹 Just incredible I'm curious, when you stood there with the photos, in real time, what did you feel? Thank you for sharing this

[@WW2Wayfinder]

My pleasure! Certainly an odd feeling knowing who was there, from the 30’s to early 1945! Especially considering how little it’s changed.

[@drmarkintexas-400]

@@WW2Wayfinder @@WW2Wayfinder I remember seeing a black and white film of a German tank drink l driving into Paris. I could not imagine the terror in the person filming that and then seeing the same spot, now, tranquil and peaceful. But, realizing what must have transpired between the two points in time.

[@stevenconnolly7907]

Strong strategic significance of the property as well. It was here in 1943 that Benito Mussolini attempted to convince the Fuherer that "After Stalingrad Russia is lost" and shift operations to a stalemate and focus resources on the west. In 1944 and Germany was collapsing on all fronts it was here that Hungarian ally Miklos Horthy received a quiet coup d'eat, essentially interned and replaced by Fenerec Salazi and SS Adolph Eichmann as plenipotentiary of Hungary.

[@kapfe1933]

wow, my Homedown in your videos. nice

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Hope you enjoyed it! Quite the building to walk around. I didn’t go inside but the grounds around it were stunning and Salzburg itself is beautiful!

[@kapfe1933]

@WW2Wayfinder Salzburg itself was bombed a few times in Ww2. Todays airport, also was a luftwaffe airfield in ww2. The US Army captured some intact ME 262s there.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@kapfe1933 that’s right! It’s a shame it was attacked given how beautiful it was but fortunately today it is a wonderful city to visit. I wk see what happened to those 262’s?!

[@daniel_sc1024]

I don't think you can really call it a Nazi palace since it pre-exists the Third Reich. It was built 1700-1732. Hitler just used an existing palace out of convenience.

[@Nabo-v8r]

❤❤❤❤

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@xr6lad]

But ingenious to call it ‘secret’.

[@nurmihusa7780]

The last aristocratic owner of the schloss was a younger brother of the last Austrian emperor. He was quite scandalously gay.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Liberation or Conquest? Alliances not allegences. A bit too subjective for me and a bit contrived.

[@powerwheelscd]

Salzburg is my wife's favorite city in Europe so far, so you can bring your wife and see History stuff and she'll forgive you.

[@stananders474]

"Individuals were stood". Don't down play these monsters. Please say these 'individuals' were evil devil's from hell that walked on earth.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

I don’t play down anything in any of my documentaries. I keep everything factual without emotion

[@417jumps3]

Dude another home fucking run!!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Haha thank you! Glad you liked it!

[@417jumps3]

@@WW2Wayfinder haven’t seen a bad one yet!!! Plus I thought you’d like that little adjective stuck in the middle!!!

[@troykauffman3963]

Another outstanding then & now video Jon, thank you. So awesome to see the grounds are pretty much the same as it was then. Hearing about 3ID is ironic, I’m currently reading Alex Kershaw’s “Against All Odds” about a few keys leaders from the 3ID. 🫡