Souvenirs of war

Adolf Hitler was notoriously fastidious when it came to seating arrangements, especially for more intimate gatherings at the Berghof. When close friends and esteemed guests were expected, his adjutants and valets would co-ordinate the proceedings with precision – including the creation of a seating plan for his personal approval and sign off.

This is the only known example of a seating arrangement plan (Tischordnung) used at the Berghof. It features the seven chairs either side of the main table, and two (when required) at either end – plus the smaller round table located in the bay window, where Eva Braun and Hitler’s inner circle would reside on more informal occasions. The tablecloth used on the round table can be seen here.

This seating plan was removed from the Berghof by Howard T. Swain in July 1945, as documented in a note he wrote in 1972. While there, he also took a small tile fragment from one of the rooms.

“The Tischordnung was removed from a huge pile of papers in the lower floor, adjacent to the bowling alley.

The floor tile came from the large hall inside the row of gaping windows, the dining (and probably reception) hall, as I recall.”

Howard T. Swain, May 10, 1972

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Here is a book presented to Hitler by Hans Frank, bearing a handwritten dedication, that reads:

To the Führer
with loyal devotion
and undying gratitude
New Year 1939
Hans Frank

(Dem Führer
in treuer Ergebenheit
und unvergänglicher Dankbarkeit
Neujahr 1939
Hans Frank)

It is written in ink on a kind of smaller standalone fly leaf page. I cannot tell whether it was always like this, or it simply came loose over the years. Regardless, the paper matches the book 100%.

The book came from the estate of Charles Gerthoffer – a French prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. It was most likely removed from Hitler’s Berghof library by a member of the French 2nd Armored Division on or around May 4, 1945.

Hans Frank (1900–1946) joined the Nazi Party early on and rose through the ranks to serve as the Governor-General of occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945. He was also Hitler’s lawyer and played a key role in devising and implementing his racial policies.

Frank’s tenure as Governor-General of occupied Poland was marked by widespread atrocities, including the persecution and extermination of Jews, the use of forced labor, and the suppression of Polish culture.  

However, justice would soon catch up with him. After the war, Frank was tried at the Nuremberg trials, and executed in 1946.

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This oversized green leather writing set was used at the Berghof, and later removed by Hitler’s architect and interior designer, Gerdy Troost. She kept it in her archive until her death in 2003.

Manufactured by the renowned book binder, Frieda Thiersch, the inside contains various pockets for writing paper and envelopes. The front cover is embossed with a Greek key pattern, also seen on Hitler’s state silver or ‘formal’ pattern silverware designed by Gerdy Troost. The edges of the folder are laced with leather.

The rear section of the set is lined with blotting paper bearing several imprints of Hitler’s distinctive signature, along with handwriting imprints of the Berghof housekeeper, Herbert Döhring, and others.

The folder may have been used in Hitler’s Berghof study, or perhaps one of the communal areas in or around the Great Hall.

With the folder, Troost kept an original aufstellung bezahlter rechnungen (summary of invoices paid), detailing items her firm delivered to the Berghof between 1939 and 1941. Included in the summary is this exact writing folder (Frieda Thiersch, 1x schreibunterlage f(ur) Berghof) which arrived at the Berghof on January 23, 1941 and cost 63 Reichmarks (around $2,800 in today’s money). Troost underlined the entry in red pen, and marked with an ‘x’.

“Everything in [Hitler’s study] was in the greenish color favored by the Boss. The Party had brown, but his favorite color was actually green. The tiled fireplace was greenish, the sofa suite in front of the small fireplace was greenish, his desk was covered in green leather, and the carpet was greenish as well.”

Living with Hitler, Accounts of Hitler’s Household Staff

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