All language subtitles for H-B.12of13.Nearly.Assassinated.at.the.Berghof.x264.AC3.MVGroup.org_track6_[eng]

Powell: Adolf Hitler caused
the deaths of 50 million people.

An entire nation
followed him to ruin.

He was hated by
those he persecuted

and even by some of
his own commanders,

yet, in 25 years,
no one managed to kill him.

Winston Churchill had
very few bodyguards,

whilst Hitler had thousands.

He needed them.

During his travels
across Europe,

there were over 40
attempts on his life.

Now, with access to captured
original SS records,

the producers of
"Churchill's Bodyguard"

can reveal for the first time,
in this new series,

how fate and a small number
of hand-picked bodyguards

helped this evil genius
to cheat death

on so many occasions.

Why did no one manage
to kill Adolf Hitler?

Enough people wanted to,
but as this series shows,

it was not as simple
as it sounds.

Even when Hitler
was relaxing at home,

his bodyguard was on full alert.

For Hitler, the Berghof,

near the town of Berchtesgaden
in the Bavarian Alps,

was a very special place.

It stood on the Obersalzberg

and reminded him
of the mountain landscape

of his childhood in Austria.

It was here that he conceived

his most Wagnerian,
world-conquering ideas.

Man:
"When I go to Obersalzberg,

"I'm not drawn just by
the beauty of the landscape.

"My imagination is stimulated.

"When I study a problem
elsewhere,

"I see it less clearly --
I'm overwhelmed by the details.

"But by night, at the Berghof,

"I lie in bed for hours,

"staring at the mountains
lit up by the moon.

"It's at such moments

that brightness enters my mind."

Powell: It was not brightness
that entered his mind --

instead, murderous plans
on a scale that would injure

and kill millions of people
across Europe.

Man: "All my great decisions
were taken

"at the Obersalzberg.

"That's where I conceived
my attack on the West

and the invasion of Russia."

Powell: At first, the Berghof
was just a picturesque cottage.

But as Hitler gained power,
it grew and expanded

until it became a massive
fortified compound

surrounded by fences
of barbed wire

and patrolled by 20,000 troops.

The Berghof became Hitler's

alternative power base,
his other main residence

after the Reich Chancellery,

a second seat of government
for the Third Reich.

Here, he discussed

his secret, demonic plans
with top Nazis --

plans that involved
ethnic cleansing and genocide.

He negotiated
with foreign leaders

and bullied them into decisions
they would regret.

He entertained his friends

and mistress.

When war came, it became
his headquarters,

constantly visited
by his top commanders.

It was also a place
where assassins

knew he could be found --

plotters within his own ranks,

and foreign agents
tasked with his murder.

The Berghof became the home
where Hitler felt safest --

but also a target for anyone
who wanted him dead.

Hitler first discovered
the Obersalzberg area

in 1922,

when his Nazi colleague,
Dietrich Eckart,

was on the run
from the police.

He joined him there

at a little guesthouse,
the "Pension Mauritz,"

staying under the false name
of Herr Wolf.

He immediately fell in love
with the dramatic landscape.

In 1928, Hitler rented
a small country-style chalet

on the Obersalzberg,
called Haus Wachenfeld.

Five years later,
with the considerable royalties

from the sales of his book
"Mein Kampf," he bought it.

Over the next few years,
he acquired

more and more land
around the house.

In 1935, two years after he
became Chancellor of Germany,

the original house was
extensively rebuilt,

the plans drawn up
by Hitler himself --

the frustrated architect

had found an outlet
for his interest.

Finished a year later,
it was then officially

renamed the Berghof --
literally,

"mountain house"
or "farmstead."

The ground floor was mainly used
for entertainment and meetings,

with a spacious sitting area,
dining room,

and a room
for screening movies.

If there were not enough
Nazi-made films to watch,

Hitler would sit back
and see

the latest Hollywood
blockbuster.

"The Lives of a Bengal Lancer"
was a particular favorite.

But the central feature
on the ground floor

was a large conference room
with a huge picture window

that overlooked
the mountains.

It could be raised and lowered
electronically

to give
a completely open panorama.

Next to it was a terrace

where Hitler and his friends
relaxed in the sun

and posed for home movies.

On the first floor were Hitler's
study, bedroom, and bathroom.

His mistress, Eva Braun,

had a separate bedroom
and bathroom.

There were several
guest bedrooms.

His closest bodyguards --
the SS-Begleitkommando --

had four bedrooms
on the same floor

at either end
of the rear of the house.

Security in the early days
at Haus Wachenfeld was very lax.

Up until 1936,
Hitler would wander

with his friends through
the unguarded, forested slopes.

At any point
he could have been ambushed.

This wasn't the only security
problem faced by the bodyguard.

Despite the impression often
given that the Berghof stood

in splendid isolation
on the side of a mountain,

it was surprisingly
close to other buildings.

There was a small guest house,
the "Zum Turken,"

just down the road from it.

The Pension Moritz stood
behind the trees above it.

And several other houses
were close by.

But from 1936, when the new
Berghof became effectively

the alternative seat
of the Nazi government,

security was
steadily increased.

A guard house was placed
across the main approach road.

And visitors now
had to pass through

two new security zones --

a Fuhrer Prohibited Area --
the Fuhrersperrgebiet --

about 5 square miles enclosing
the whole Obersalzberg,

which was steadily surrounded
by a 7-foot fence...

and the Sovereign Area --
the Hoheitsgebiet --

which contained the Berghof
and nearby buildings.

The outer perimeter was
patrolled by the RSD --

the Reich Security Service --
while the inner was guarded

by Leibstandarte troops.

Special passes,
updated every week,

were needed
to enter each area.

It was not enough to wear
a military uniform

to pass through.

To house these bodyguards,

the Zum Turken was taken over
for the RSD.

And then the nearby houses were
compulsorily purchased,

and a massive new barracks built
for the Leibstandarte.

Henceforth, only a few
favorites --

like Albert Speer,
Hitler's favorite architect,

or Martin Bormann,
who had overall control

of the complex --
would be allowed houses

within the outer zone.

Nevertheless, until war began,

hundreds of Hitler fans
would be allowed to climb

the slopes of the Obersalzberg
and walk past the new Berghof.

Sometimes Hitler would come out
and pose with them

on the steps of the house.

It all seemed
remarkably relaxed --

but the bodyguard were only too
aware of the potential risk...

and that other weak points
also existed,

which could easily allow
a determined assassin

to get to the Führer.

One of the chinks
in the defensive perimeter

which increasingly surrounded
Hitler at the Berghof

was a small tea-house
built in 1937.

It stood on a slope

across the valley
from his house,

just inside the outer
perimeter fence.

Hitler would take
a regular daily walk to it.

The stroll was mainly downhill,

and when he reached the tea-house
he would be picked up by car

and taken back up
to the Berghof.

The regularity and openness
of this walk,

which could be overlooked
from woods

outside the perimeter fence,
made it an excellent point

for any assassination attempt --

a fact which did not escape
foreign agents.

Another tea-house was constructed
by Martin Bormann

as a 50th birthday present
for the Fuhrer

in 1939.

Bormann was Hitler's
private secretary

and was in charge
of purchasing land in the area

and overseeing the construction
of all its buildings.

The Kehlsteinhaus was perched
on top of a rocky outcrop

and was called the Eagle's Nest.

To reach it,

a 10-foot high,
marble-lined tunnel was dug

450 feet into the mountain rock.

At the end of the tunnel,
a gilded elevator

carried visitors up a shaft
over 400 feet high to the house.

It was built in just 10 months,

but at a cost
of 30 million Reichsmarks

and the lives of 10 laborers.

Despite its dramatic location,

Hitler was never very fond
of the Eagle's Nest

and only visited it
a dozen times.

The reason was that he didn't
trust the elevator,

fearing he might get stuck
halfway up.

The final stage of construction
at the Berghof

began in 1943 --
an elaborate system

of connecting tunnels and
underground air raid shelters.

Some of these still survive.

Despite the constant updating
of security

and thousands of bodyguards
dedicated to his protection,

the Berghof was never
the most secure place

in the Third Reich
for Hitler.

For Hitler loved
the outdoor life.

His one main regret about
becoming leader of Germany

was that he could no longer
go hiking.

It was because Hitler loved
the alpine landscape

that the Berghof became
his favorite residence.

In his early years there,
he would set off into the forest

with a few friends -- frequently
bumping into hikers or skiers

curious to see the man
who claimed

that he would be
Germany's savior.

In those days, he was notorious

as the leader
of a failed putsch,

but as he came closer to power
in the early 1930s,

more and more people were drawn
to his Bavarian retreat --

until crowds became
a security problem.

In 1933, the year Hitler
became Chancellor,

an SA Brown Shirt was found
in the grounds of his house

acting suspiciously.

He was carrying a gun
and was arrested by SS guards.

Little more is known
about the incident,

but it underlined the fact that
even Hitler's own supporters

might turn against him.

At one time, the SA had provided
Hitler with staunch bodyguards,

but some of them believed
that now he was in power,

he was betraying
their socialist beliefs.

In the following year,
Hitler was forced

to move against the SA
and murder its leaders,

including Ernst Röhm.

After this
Night of the Long Knives,

he would only trust the SS
with his personal security

at the Berghof.

After these tensions,

the mid-1930s
were relatively tranquil.

Hitler consolidated his regime

and concentrated on restoring
the German economy

through massive programs
of rearmament and public works.

He was frequently
at the Berghof --

and there was grumbling
from ministers

such as propaganda chief
Joseph Goebbels

that he was spending too much
time down in Bavaria.

Visiting the Fuhrer became
a chore --

but one which
an ambitious minister

in the snake pit
of the Nazi court

could not avoid doing.

In his Alpine retreat,
Hitler was able

to relax as much
as he ever could,

and for his bodyguard it was
a relatively quiet time.

The Begleitkommando
under Bruno Gesche

had their Fuhrer
in a secure place,

and the protective rings
around him

were continually
being improved.

Nazi Chieftains such as
Foreign Minister

Joachim von Ribbentrop
were regular visitors.

And Hitler's mistress Eva Braun
and members of her family

spent much of their time
at the house.

As these home movies show,
the atmosphere

was noticeably more relaxed
when the Fuhrer was not around.

But even he could be persuaded
to play with the children

and dogs.

For Bruno Gesche
and the Begleitkommando,

the most immediate threat
would come

from a completely
different direction.

SS Chief Heinrich Himmler had
always resented the direct link

which Hitler's most intimate
bodyguards had

with their Fuhrer,
and was desperate

to assert his control
over them.

In autumn 1932, even before
Hitler became Chancellor,

Himmler had attempted to have
Gesche removed

from the Begleitkommando
because he had publicly

criticized security arrangements
organized by the SS.

Hitler refused to listen
to Himmler,

and Gesche was
merely reprimanded.

Humiliation followed
for the SS chief.

In May 1934,
the Fuhrer selected Gesche

to command
the Begleitkommando.

Himmler's resentment festered

as he was forced to sign
the contract confirming this.

In the autumn of 1938,
he tried again,

using Gesche's major weakness --
his love of alcohol --

as the lever.

The SS, of which
the Begleitkommando

was technically a part,
had a strict rule.

Any member
guilty of abusing alcohol

must either abstain from drink
or resign.

Gesche was frequently

the worse for wear,
and on September 26, 1938,

Himmler ordered him
to sign a written statement

swearing not to touch spirits
for three years --

or face expulsion
from the SS.

Gesche was forced to do so --

but it was a short-lived victory
for Himmler.

Within a few months, discreet
pressure from the Fuhrer

forced the SS chief
to lift the ban.

Although virtually teetotal,
Hitler was ready to protect

his most intimate companions.

This eruption of
the long-running feud

between the head of the SS
and his unruly subordinate

came just at a time
when Hitler's bodyguard

was being tested
in a much more deadly way --

although neither man was
immediately aware of this.

In 1938, a Swiss student
named Maurice Bavaud

began to stalk Hitler
across Germany.

But he was no fan -- he wanted
to assassinate the Führer.

The Berghof was famous as
a place where devoted followers

could sometimes
get close to Hitler.

And Bavaud posed as just
such an enthusiastic Nazi.

He took a room at a hotel

in the nearby town
of Berchtesgaden,

and RSD agents
secretly checked him out

but found nothing suspicious.

Bavaud went for walks
in the forest around the Berghof

and practiced shooting
at the trunks of trees.

He didn't bother using
a silencer for his gun,

but just blasted away.

[Gunshots]

If they heard the shots,
Hitler's guards must have

assumed it was a hunter --
Göring,

who had a house in the area,
was notoriously keen.

Bavaud asked at the gatehouse

whether he could go up
to the Berghof

but was told it was impossible

to get through the checkpoints
without a pass.

At Bischofswiesen,
a security officer

at the new Chancery building
told Bavaud

that he'd be better off
trying to see Hitler in Munich.

Bavaud took the advice

and traveled there
for the annual parade

celebrating Hitler's
failed beer-hall putsch.

But there, the weight of
bodyguards around Hitler

prevented Bavaud
from getting close enough

to get a shot at the Führer.

Bavaud took a train back to
Berchtesgaden in November 1938

and went straight up
to the Berghof.

At the main checkpoint,
Bavaud claimed he was carrying

an urgent message for Hitler

from an important French
politician -- direct from Paris.

The guard phoned
the main residence

but was told
Hitler had just left.

Once more, Bavaud went back
to Munich

and tried Hitler's
Brown House headquarters.

But he was told to return again
to Berchtesgaden

and visit
the Bischofswiesen offices.

Running short of money,

the student had to give up
his hunt.

His tortuous pursuit of Hitler
was only finally revealed

when he was arrested
for not having a ticket

on a train heading to France.

His gun was found,
and the Gestapo prised

his plot to assassinate Hitler
out of him.

Bavaud was imprisoned
and later guillotined.

In this instance,

the security measures
at the Berghof

had worked relatively very well.

After initial failures
to identify him as a threat,

Bavaud had been unable to break
through the perimeter fencing

or con his way
past the checkpoints.

He got nowhere near his target.

The circumstances would be
a lot different

with the next assassination
attempts on Hitler

at the Berghof.

This time they would come
from within his own circle.

It was Hitler's drive to war
that provoked these incidents,

and it is no surprise
that they should take place

at the Berghof.

His alpine retreat was very much

a key location
on the path to war.

It was here that Hitler
began the process

of fooling
the British prime minister,

Neville Chamberlain,
into allowing him

to occupy the Sudetenland areas
of Czechoslovakia

in 1938.

Having got away with this,

Hitler then used the Berghof

as his military headquarters
to plan his next assaults.

It was there that he pored over
maps with his generals

and planned the assault
on Poland

which began World War II.

And it was there --
after the devastating power

of Blitzkrieg had been so
dramatically shown in Poland --

that he worked with his
commanders on the brilliant plan

which was to occupy France,
Belgium, and the Netherlands

and drive the British
out of continental Europe

in a few short weeks in 1940.

While still considering
an invasion of Britain,

it was in August 1940
at the Berghof --

as he viewed the towering peaks
of the mountains around him --

that Hitler gained
the confidence

to take on the Soviet Union.

In January 1941,
he had a two-day meeting

at the Berghof in which
he informed his generals

of this momentous decision.

The Berghof's manager,
Herbert Dohring,

discovered the secret.

[Man speaking German]

Powell: Nicolaus von Below
was one of Hitler's adjutants

and remembered
the shared sense of shock.

Man: "We were all dumbfounded
when we heard this.

"Everyone had very stern looks
on their faces.

"No one opposed the idea
at the time,

"but when we left the room,
all the questions started.

No one wanted a war
with Russia."

Powell:
But their Fuhrer did.

And on June 22, 1941,

Operation Barbarossa burst upon
the unsuspecting Soviet Union.

[ Explosion ]

It would be this war --

conceived at the Berghof --

that would make him
most vulnerable

to the opposition
of his generals,

that would lead
to conspiracy

and eventually
attempts to kill him.

For Bruno Gesche too,

the war against the Soviet Union
almost proved fatal --

for Heinrich Himmler,
his nominal boss,

had still not abandoned
his feud.

But at first all seemed
to go well, and despite setbacks

which prevented the capture
of Moscow at the end of 1941,

Hitler was confident that 1942
would bring victory.

He planned Operation Blue --
a mighty offensive

to seize the oil fields
of the Caucasus.

[ Explosions ]

It was while this second
great German assault

on the Eastern Front
was being prepared

that Gesche gave Himmler
the opportunity

to renew his attacks.

During a binge drinking session,

he pulled out his pistol

and threatened
another SS officer.

He was swiftly calmed down,

but within days
a report was on Himmler's desk.

It was just the moment that
the malevolent head of the SS

had been waiting for --
and this time

even the friendship
of his Fuhrer

could not save Gesche.

He was dismissed from command
of the Begleitkommando

and banned from drinking
for three years.

But, far worse, Himmler ordained
that he should be sent to fight

on the Eastern Front.

At the age of 37,
Gesche would go

for basic training
before facing the full fury

of fighting the Red Army.

It must have seemed
like a death sentence.

The unit which
the disgraced commander

of the Begleitkommando
bodyguard

was sent to join
was the Waffen-SS

"Wiking" panzer division
serving in southern Russia.

He arrived just in time
for Operation Blue.

By the end of July, the Germans
had sliced through the Red Army

and were closing in
on their objective --

the oil fields
of the Caucasus.

But the speed
of the panzers' advance

overstretched
their supply lines.

They shuddered to a halt just
outside the city of Stalingrad.

Gesche fought well during
the opening stages

of the offensive,
but was then wounded

and brought back to Germany.

This probably saved his life --

for in November,
while he was recuperating,

the Soviets launched
a ferocious counterattack

which trapped
the German Sixth Army

in Stalingrad.

[Gunfire]

In December,

while many of his fellow
SS officers

were fighting desperately
to avoid annihilation,

Gesche was ordered

to return to Hitler's side

and resume command
of the Begleitkommando.

The Fuhrer had been pleased
to see

that years of easy living
as his bodyguard

had not made Gesche
too soft for battle,

and once again Himmler's plan to
destroy his enemy was thwarted...

but he would bide his time
until Gesche gave him

another opportunity
to strike.

Defeat at Stalingrad
in January 1943

acted as a spur to officers
who had become convinced

that only by getting rid
of Hitler

could Germany be saved
from catastrophic defeat.

During March 1943, two attempts
to kill Hitler failed --

both times due to Hitler's
uncanny luck,

rather than the defenses
of his bodyguard.

But while the threat
from his generals was growing,

Hitler and his bodyguard
were looking

in a very different direction --
the threat

of an assault from the air.

In May 1943, the RAF raid
on the Ruhr dams

showed that Britain's new
long-range heavy bombers

could achieve
pinpoint accuracy.

Just two months later,
horrific firestorms

devastated Hamburg,
showing how ruthless

the Allies were ready to be.

Almost immediately, a massive
new program began at the Berghof

to build more than 1.5 miles

of bomb-proof tunnels
and shelters.

Hundreds of foreign
slave workers were brought in --

bringing another risk
to Hitler's security.

But what Hitler feared above all

was an aerial attack
by Allied paratroops.

He had good reason to.

In September 1943, he had
launched his own

daring aerial raid to rescue

Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini,

ousted as Italy tried
to pull out of the war.

Mussolini was imprisoned
in a hotel

in the Abruzzo mountains,
which was only approachable

by a heavily guarded
cable car.

So German special forces
used gliders to land

by the hotel and overwhelm
the Italian guards.

The deposed dictator
was bundled into a tiny

two-seat Fieseler Storch
liaison aircraft

and flown to freedom.

At the Wolf's Lair he was
greeted by a delighted Hitler.

But his delight was tinged
with a concern

that if his special forces

could carry out
such a spectacular coup,

so could his enemies.

So 20,000 bodyguard troops
were kept

in barracks
close to the Berghof --

even though they were
desperately needed

on the Eastern Front.

But for the moment,

the real danger came from
a totally different direction.

The German High Command plotters
who had already

tried to assassinate Hitler
during visits

to the Eastern Front
were still active.

Captain
Eberhard von Breitenbuch,

aide-de-camp to
Field Marshal Ernst Busch,

commander of Army Group Center,

had volunteered to make
another attempt.

On March 11, 1944,
he accompanied Busch

to the Berghof
for a conference.

Breitenbuch had been offered
a bomb,

but decided to use a pistol.

But his willingness
to sacrifice himself

was thwarted.

At the last moment,
SS bodyguards blocked his way

into the conference room.

No aides were to be allowed in.

The Allied landings on Normandy
on June 6, 1944

increased the pressure
on the conspirators.

Time was now running out

before Germany was
militarily annihilated.

Leadership of the plotters
now passed to the charismatic

Colonel Claus Schenk Graf
von Stauffenberg.

A month after D-Day,
Stauffenberg arrived

at the Berghof
for a military conference.

In his briefcase were
the explosives

kept after
the unsuccessful attempts

to kill Hitler
the year before.

It is uncertain
whether Stauffenberg

was unfamiliar
with how to set the bomb

or whether he simply intended
this visit as a dry run.

Either way, he didn't plant
the bomb in the Berghof.

Five days later,
on July 11, 1944,

Stauffenberg returned
to the Berghof

with the bomb in his case.

But the conspirators had agreed
that they must try

to kill Heinrich Himmler,
as well as Hitler.

The SS chief was not there,

so Stauffenberg
did not leave the bomb.

It was a grave error.

By the time the conspirators
decided the next attempt

to kill Hitler at the Berghof
must go ahead regardless,

it was too late.

Three days later, Hitler,
as unpredictable as ever,

flew to the Wolf's Lair,
his command post

on the Eastern Front.

It is an amazing insight
into how lax security was

at the Berghof when dealing
with senior officers,

that no one bothered
to search Stauffenberg

or check his bulging briefcase
before he got close to Hitler.

And that laxity
seems to have been

just as great
at Rastenburg.

For on July 20th, Stauffenberg
did manage to plant his bomb

during a conference being held
in a temporary hut.

It exploded.

But miraculously,
Hitler survived the blast.

With hindsight, the golden
opportunity to kill Hitler

had been at the Berghof.

It was the flimsy nature
of the wooden conference hut

at the Wolf's Lair
that had lessened

the impact of the bomb --
and saved Hitler.

At the Berghof,
the solidly built walls

of the conference room would
have contained the explosion

to devastating effect.

Although it had failed,
the July bomb plot

contributed to a fundamental
change in Allied thinking

which could have been deadly
for Hitler.

Although many Allied commanders

felt that Hitler's
military incompetence

now meant that he was worth more
to them alive than dead,

it was decided
at the highest level

that an assassination attempt
should be investigated.

For the first time in almost
five years of war,

British Intelligence
began to work specifically

on the feasibility
of a plot to kill Hitler.

And the project was given

to the Special Operations
Executive -- SOE --

the organization set up
by Winston Churchill

to "set Europe ablaze"

by supporting
resistance movements

all over Nazi-occupied Europe.

[Screeching]

Inside information
on Hitler's security services

came from interrogating
German prisoners of war.

SOE began by considering
a range

of options -- should Hitler be
killed whilst traveling

or would it be better
to target him

at one of his main residences?

Getting to Hitler while he was
traveling was rejected

as too difficult because of his
notorious unpredictability.

Then the Reich Chancellery,

the Wolf's Lair,

and his apartment in Munich
were eliminated from the plot.

Soon SOE's plotters
had decided

on the best place
for an attempt.

It was to be the Berghof.

When Hitler stayed
at the Berghof,

it was usually
for several weeks,

so the SOE planners reckoned
there should be time

to execute a pre-planned
assassination

once his presence
was confirmed.

Most of the Obersalzberg was
heavily wooded and mountainous,

making it difficult
for Hitler's bodyguard

to monitor every approach.

It also offered good cover

for any operations
against the Berghof.

The Kehlstein tea-house
perched on the Eagle's Nest

was judged to be too difficult
to reach,

and was rarely used by Hitler.

But it was noted that Hitler's
favorite daily walk

was to the Mooslahnerkopf
tea-house in the valley.

The layout of the Berghof
was also studied.

And it was noted that members

of Hitler's
SS Begleitkommando bodyguard

slept in bedrooms
on the same floor as he did.

The location and structure
of the nearby barracks

containing the main SS bodyguard
was studied closely --

with detailed floor plans
of its quarters drawn up

from the testimony of soldiers
who had been based there.

Nearby buildings
used by top Nazis,

such as Hermann Göring's house

and Albert Speer's studio,
were also included

in the exhaustive analysis
of the area.

SOE began a search for local
Austrians or Bavarians

with a grudge against Hitler,

who might be
potential assassins.

It was also noted that large
numbers of foreign workers --

especially French, Czechs,
and Poles -- were brought in

each day by bus, and that
security arrangements

at the checkpoints
were fairly lax.

Details of the uniforms worn
by the RSD and Begleitkommando

were studied so that agents

could be infiltrated
in disguise.

One SOE contact claimed

that he had seen
a double of Hitler

at the Berghof,
but this could not be verified.

With all this information
to hand, SOE planners considered

three main options for killing
Hitler at the Berghof.

Mission one involved
one or two snipers,

dressed in SS bodyguard
uniforms.

They were to lie in wait
for Hitler as he walked

to the Mooslahnerkopf tea-house

at the bottom
of the Obersalzberg.

This had the advantage

that it was a regular route
for Hitler.

He arrived at the tea-house

at a regular time,
around 11:00 in the morning.

He liked to walk alone
or with just a single quest.

He would shout at any
SS bodyguards that followed him,

telling them
that if they were frightened,

they should guard themselves.

An assassin
disguised as an SS bodyguard

could approach the tea-house
through the woods.

He would be armed
with a sniper rifle

with a telescopic sight
and firing explosive bullets.

If he failed to hit his target,
a back-up team armed with

a British PIAT or U.S. bazooka
anti-tank weapon,

was then to fire an explosive
charge at the tea-house

and demolish it completely.

Mission two was to ambush
Hitler's car

as it left the Berghof and drove
to an SS base at Klessheim.

The route was heavily wooded
either side of the road,

providing good cover
for a team of assassins.

The assassins' chosen weapon was
again the U.S. - designed bazooka.

It was deemed to be perfect
for the job,

as it was light to carry
but packed

an enormous punch --
being able to penetrate

through several inches
of armor plate,

the sort built into Hitler's
Mercedes cars.

Mission three was
a far larger affair.

Inspired perhaps by Skorzeny's
mountaintop rescue of Mussolini,

it was exactly what Hitler
feared most --

a combined-arms aerial assault
on the Berghof.

Fast, low-flying bombers --
probably British Mosquitoes --

would precision-attack
the SS barracks and any guards

caught in the open.

It was anticipated
that the remaining guards

would rush to the bomb shelters,

leaving the slopes
around the Berghof empty.

The next wave would parachute in
an SAS battalion.

Elite, battle-hardened warriors,

they were the perfect
special forces

for the operation.

Surprise, combined
with heavy firepower,

would overwhelm
the remaining German guards.

But such an option would,
in effect,

be a suicide mission
for the SAS.

There was little opportunity
for such a large group of men

to escape -- and they were
considered too valuable

to be sacrificed,
even to kill Hitler.

Attempts to bomb the Berghof
were also rejected

by Allied air force commanders
because they would take up

too much bombing manpower.

In the end,
events overtook the plans.

The relentless advance
of the Soviet Army

on the Eastern Front

demanded Hitler's
constant attention.

After leaving the Berghof
to go to the Wolf's Lair

on July 14, 1944,

Hitler never returned
to the Obersalzberg.

He spent most of the last months
of the war at Rastenburg

before the Soviet advance
forced him to flee to Berlin.

There, he would spend the last
weeks of the Third Reich

holed up in his
concrete-and-steel bunker

beneath the Reich Chancellery

as the Red Army smashed
into the city.

If he thought
this might offer him

some protection from his
enemies, he was wrong.

Assassination plots by groups
within his own followers

would continue to threaten him
even there.

But one danger had passed.

With the Berghof
remaining unused,

the British attempt
to kill Hitler there

was impossible to carry out.

However, this did not stop
the building

from becoming a target.

On April 25, 1945, over 300 RAF
Lancaster and Mosquito bombers,

escorted by Mustang
long-range fighters

from the U.S. 8th Air Force,
flew low over the Obersalzberg.

They dropped several
1,000-pound

and 4,000-pound bombs
on the Berghof,

the SS barracks,
and surrounding buildings.

It was not a pointless act
of destruction.

The Allies had changed their
minds about bombing the Berghof.

They had heard rumors that
Hitler might be considering

a last-minute escape from Berlin

to set up a stronghold
in the Bavarian mountains.

There, with other
die-hard Nazis,

he could keep fighting
for years to come.

The aerial demolition
of the Berghof

sent a clear message
to the bunker in Berlin.

The Allied victors would track
him down wherever he was.

There would be no alpine hiding
place for the Nazis.

In early May, American troops

reached the Obersalzberg
and occupied the Berghof.

They stood in the ruins
of the great conference room.

They peered out of the now
shattered picture window,

contemplating the same landscape
that had inspired Hitler

to inflict so much death and
destruction on his fellow man.

It was the end
of his evil dream.

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