WWII is not something many Americans think much about anymore. But it has always been a part of our family history, John's grandfather was killed crossing a river in France. We live in what was an occupied country during the war, and we are only an hour's drive from where the Battle of the Bulge was fought. Add the phenomenal HBO series, The Band of Brothers, to the mix and you've got yourself a bucket list of WWII sites.
The Eagle's Nest, Obersalzburg, just outside of Berchtesgarden, Germany, is where Hitler went to escape from it all, to relax and kick his feet up. While up in the mountains, it is not far from Salzburg and it is something John had never seen (and also in the Band of Brothers). We decided to go there before checking into our hotel in Salzburg. The town itself was beautiful, and we took our time wandering around before deciding to find the road to Hitler's famous hideaway.
We wound our way through the rain and clouds, up and up and up until we got to the parking lot. We found our way to the ticket booth, and watched a bus pull away and head up the mountain. (You have to take the bus or hike, they won't let cars drive the whole way.) The "kind" (and I use that term loosely) woman at the ticket window told us we had just watched the last bus drive away. When John pointed to the times on the boards and asked her about the bus at 4:35 (in German) she "kindly" explained that what was supposed to be the last bus, was cancelled due to weather conditions. We looked at our watches to see that it was 4:15. Maybe there was a big blizzard coming in the next seven minutes that we didn't know about?
Ok, no problem, we were in town for a couple of days, we would come back on our way out of town. The day we left Salzburg, was gloriously sunny. The view from the mountains was incredible. We dressed in our hiking boots and filled our backpacks, planning to park and walk up to Hitler's palace. Only to be told by another "kind" employee that we missed the very, very last bus, two days before by five minutes (the one that we saw pull away). She also explained that the house itself was closed for the season, it was a three hour hike, and that they were doing dangerous tree work in the mountains and she couldn't guarantee our safety. So instead, we went to the museum (mostly because we all had to use the toilet, and that was the only way we could.)
We've seen a lot of WWII sites throughout Europe, but this was our first from the German perspective. We didn't like it so much. The very first photos after walking through the doors were graphic, confirming that we will never go to see a concentration camp. The story boards that lined the halls to the bunker, highlighted a lot of the propaganda and sort of made me sick to my stomach. And something that struck me immediately was that nothing, nothing at all, was in English.
With the exception of the Charter of the United Nations. So I took out my phone to take a photo -- to AJ's horror. He proceeded to point out all of the "no photo" signs and the video camera. To which I said, "Ok, thanks" and moved to an angle so as not to be seen by the overhead camera. "Let them try and make me delete the words of the UN," I told him.
Now I'm not an American that expects everything to be in English. We work hard to try to always speak the language of the country we are visiting. Between John and myself, we can cover French, German and Spanish and we make the kids speak a few words of Flemish if and when we need it (to their utter horror.) But most of the war sites we've visited have paid tribute to the Americans by using English captions. Not so much here. With the attitudes of the "kind" employees and the lack of English, I was starting to feel like our little American family wasn't very welcome here.
It made the following words stand out very loud and clear:
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
AND FOR THESE ENDS to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and
to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all people,
HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS.
Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization known as the United Nations.
A good reminder that we can learn a lot from history. And that world events can have a profound effect, no matter how self-sufficient we might think ourselves to be.
In the end, I think it was a good thing that we never made it to the top. I didn't need to see Hitler's golden elevator or hear anymore about the riches he pilfered.
I think I'll let my last WWII tour site leave me with the words of the UN.
Full Circle.
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