TILE FROM ADOLF HITLER'S BERGHOF HOME

TILE FROM ADOLF HITLER'S BERGHOF HOME
A rare relic, a piece of stove tile, approx. 3.5 x 2.5 inches, from Adolf Hitler's mountain retreat and headquarters, the Berghof in Obersalzberg, near Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. The piece of glazed green ceramic was part of the original Kachelofen (masonry stove) to heat the living area at 'Haus Wachenfeld', the original name of the Berghof. The piece was excavated in 1986 by a local resident from Berchtesgaden. A copy of the letter of provenance included with this lot reads '...in 1986, when an antique dealer from Berchtesgaden told me about a bomb crater... about a quarter-mile below Hitler's Berghof at Obersalzberg, which in 1945 had been used by...local farmers to hide objects taken from the bombed-out ruins of Hitler's home...'Spornhof Kathl' (Katharina Guggenbichler) had shown the site to the antique dealer in 1985...he told me about it and I started digging there with two friends... Finally, after days, under a damaged bitumen tarp we found about 100 pieces of Hitler's crystal chandelier, original Fabric, chinaware, broken crystal bowls, and the remains of what the woman said were three of Hitler's ceramic tile stoves [sic] from Haus Wachenfeld which was later called 'Berghof'...We sold the chandelier and the other items in 1987/88...except for the ceramic tiles and other smaller objects...I have kept these archaeological objects in my personal possession since 1986...the green and brown tiles are visible in period postcards/photos of the Kachelofen's in Haus Wachenfeld's living room, and the 'Unterberg Room' of the Berghof.' The relic is mounted in a 10 x 10 inch black-framed shadow box with a postcard of Heinrich Hoffman's photograph of the living room, showing the stove pictured on the right side of the room. A very fine personal Hitler relic with excellent provenance.