Bombing of Obersalzberg

The bombing of Obersalzberg was an air raid carried out by the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command on 25 April 1945 during the last days of World War II in Europe. The operation targeted Obersalzberg, a complex of residences and bunkers in Bavaria which had been built for Adolf Hitler and other key members of Germany's leadership. Many buildings in the complex were destroyed, though Hitler's residence and the bunker network were only slightly damaged. Two Allied bombers were shot down with the loss of four airmen, and 31 Germans were killed. Historians have identified several motives for the attack on Obersalzberg. These include supporting Allied ground forces, demonstrating the effectiveness of the British heavy bomber force, convincing die-hard Germans that the war was lost and obscuring the memory of pre-war appeasement policies. The attack was conducted by a large force of 359 heavy bombers in an attempt to destroy the bunkers located below Obersalzberg, from which the Allies feared that senior members of the German Government would command an Alpine Fortress. After difficulties locating and marking the targets were overcome, the bombers attacked in two waves. The approximately 3,000 people at Obersalzberg sheltered in bunkers, and the nearby town of Berchtesgaden was undamaged. Hitler was in Berlin at the time of the attack and Hermann Göring, the only senior Nazi at Obersalzberg, survived. While the raid on Obersalzberg was celebrated at the time, it is little remembered today. Most of the Allied personnel involved in the operation took satisfaction from attacking Hitler's residence, and it received extensive media coverage. As the Alpine Fortress proved to be a myth, most post-war histories made little mention of the operation. During the period in which Germany was ruled by the Nazi Party, the Obersalzberg complex of chalets and mountain lodges was constructed near the Bavarian town of Berchtesgaden. This complex was used by Adolf Hitler and other members of the Nazi Party's elite.