Herbert Döhring

Herbert Döhring (born September 29, 1913 in Paaris , Rastenburg district , East Prussia ; † December 23, 2001 ) was an SS member and from 1935 to 1943 Hitler's caretaker at the Berghof ( Obersalzberg , Berchtesgaden ).

activities

Since 1934 a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in Berlin-Lichterfelde , Döhring changed in 1935 to the 30 man strong “Führerschutzkommando”. His first task was to offer Hitler personal protection in the Hotel Deutscher Hof during the Nazi party rally in Nuremberg in 1935 .

After the Nazi party rally, Döhring was appointed to Obersalzberg, where he first worked as a telephone operator or guard in the old Wachenfeld house - which at that time was converted into what would later become the Berghof under the architect Alois Degano . Then he took over the construction supervision of the expansion work. During the renovation work, Hitler lived in the guest house “Hoher Göll” when he was on Obersalzberg. Eventually Döhring became the caretaker of the spacious Berghof.

While working at the Berghof, Döhring met his future wife Anna Krautenbacher, who was also employed there. They married on December 10, 1936 in Berchtesgaden. The subsequent wedding ceremony, which Hitler also attended, took place in the Berghof.

In the 1990s, Döhring appeared in some television documentaries on the subjects of the Third Reich and the SS. At the end of the 1990s he traveled back to his former workplace and was seen in a documentary about the Berghof.

Statements as a contemporary witness

Döhring commented on the following topics in an interview:

Kehlsteinhaus

Martin Bormann took up a rather casual statement by Hitler and had the Kehlsteinhaus built on the Kehlstein . According to Döhring, Hitler was not impressed by this plan, but allowed it to be realized because he did not want to offend those who carried it out. According to Döhring's statement, Hitler was only four or five times on the mountain. There were frequent meetings and conferences in the Kehlsteinhaus, but Hitler repeatedly canceled them.

Flight from Rudolf Hess to Great Britain

Döhring claimed to have overheard conversations between Hitler and third parties. He claims to have overheard a conversation between Hitler and his air force liaison officer Nicolaus von Below , in which the words " low-level flight ", " night flight " and " blind flight with maximum use of the terrain" are said to have been used. Since this is said to have happened weeks before Rudolf Hess' flight on May 10, 1941, a connection with this "England flight" is not recognizable.

additional

Doehring also commented on whether Hitler and Eva Braun had normal sexual intercourse with each other, but without actually knowing - according to his own claims.

The insight into Hitler's housekeeping that Döhring made possible repeatedly aroused interest in the supposed sensation. In the scientific works of Fest or Kershaw et al. a. the "source" Döhring is not mentioned.

Documents and literature

• The Berghof - Hitler private part 1, (DVD) (Quote: "Herbert Döhring, former caretaker of Hitler's Alpendomizil describes his experiences in an exciting and fact-rich way.") Source: ZeitReisen Verlag.
• Der Berghof - Hitler private part 2, (DVD) (Quote: "Döhring gives answers to questions of contemporary history that are still unanswered today: What did Hitler know about the flight of his deputy, Rudolf Hess, to England in May 1941?") Source: ZeitReisen Verlag.
• Berlin - Obersalzberg (DVD) Interview partner Herbert Döhring - Bega-Film.
• Wolfgang Zdral : The Hitlers: The Unknown Family of the Führer , Campus Verlag, Frankfurt 2005, ISBN 3-593-37457-9 .
• Kurt Kuch : “At Hitler's” chambermaid Anna's memories. Verlag Kleindienst, St. Andrä-WIERT 2003, ISBN 3-9501151-6-1 .