Adolf Hitler grins as he poses with children in propaganda

Adolf Hitler grins as he poses with children in propaganda photographs

01:35 01 April 2017 Read: 11818

Rare images of Adolf Hitler socialising with children and supporters at his notorious Alpine hideaway have emerged.

Capturing the Fuhrer shaking hands with youngsters, relaxing with dogs and even feeding deer, the intimate shots were produced by the Nazi propagandists in a bid to show a gentler side to their leader. The collection appears in a new book 'Hitler's Alpine Headquarters' by James Wilson published by Pen and Sword Books.

Beyond the eerie smiles of adoring families who would gather daily to ask for autographs when Hitler was in residence, the leader can be seen flanked by members of the SS.

Despite its lush mountain setting near Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg, the Bavarian cottage, known as Haus Wachenfeld then later Berghof, was emblazoned with swastika flags and Nazi insignia.

Hitler was first introduced to the cottage when visiting his friend and mentor Dietrich Eckart. Eckart, editor of Auf gut Deutsch!, an anti-Semitic periodical, was hiding from authorities at the cottage in 1923. At the end of his visit, Hitler was, in his own words, ‘completely captivated’ by the region, according to Wilson. Back in Munich and later that year, Hitler and the other Nazi leaders found themselves charged with high treason as a result of their unsuccessful attempt to seize power in the Munich Putsch.

Hitler rented the retreat in 1928, then bought and refurbished it with the proceeds from his political manifesto Mein Kampf in 1933. It was renamed Berghof and served as the leader's vacation home for the best part of a decade, often visited by his adoring supporters.

By engaging this endearing child in this attentive way, Hitler projects the image of a caring and approachable leader; a man truly in touch with his people, even with children. The child Rosa Bernile Nienau and her mother, a doctor's widow, visited the Obersalzberg for the first time in 1932. The following year, 1933, when informed that he and the child shared the same birthday, 20th April, Hitler singled her out from the large crowd, invited her up to the house, then walked hand-in-hand with her back to Haus Wachenfeld. Bernile was treated to strawberries and whipped cream on the terrace

While accompanied by members of the SS, a fatherly Hitler greets some children selected from the daily gathering on the road near Haus Wachenfeld. The taller girl on the left patiently awaits an opportunity to request Hitler's autograph on the postcard that she carries; quite customary on such occasions. In the background stands Hotel zum Turken