BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:60@historyfare.co.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251106T200000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251106T220000 DTSTAMP:20251103T110840Z URL:https://historyfare.co.uk/events/bombing-hitlers-mountain/ SUMMARY:Cancelled - Bombing Hitler's Mountain DESCRIPTION:**Unfortunately our guest speaker for our November talk has had to cancel due to illness. \; This talk will be re-arranged for 2026.* *\n\nFor the November HistoryFare monthly talk\, we welcome guest speaker David Hall.\n\nDr David Hall is a Visiting Research Fellow within the Defe nce Studies Department at King’s College London. He was previously an As sistant Professor in the History Department at the Royal Military College of Canada. He has a D.Phil. in Modern History from the University of Oxfor d\, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.\n\nDavis is iwriti ng a new book on Adolf Hitler and his life on the Obersalzberg. It builds on the themes introduced and developed in Hitler's Munich: The Capital of the Nazi Movement.\n\nOn 25 April 1945\, just two weeks before the end of the Second World War in Europe\, RAF Bomber Command attacked Hitler’s re sidence and military headquarters on the Obersalzberg\, a small mountain i n the south-eastern Bavarian Alps. Hitler had been a resident on the mount ain since the 1920s.\n\nAfter he became Chancellor in 1933 other leading m embers of the Nazi Party acquired houses close to Hitler’s Berghof on th e mountain and in the hamlets and villages around Berchtesgaden. The whole alpine region soon became an important centre of government and during th e war it was Hitler’s favourite military headquarters. As such it was a primary target so why did it survived\nuntouched until the very end of the war?\n\nDrawing on contemporary documents\, newspaper reports\, and eye-w itness accounts this fully illustrated talk outlines the importance of the Obersalzberg to Hitler’s war effort\, the military and political motive s behind the Allies’ attack\, and both the expected and unexpected conse quences of the air raid.\n\nHistorians have long argued over the reasons w hy the Obersalzberg complex was bombed\, citing strategic importance\, mil itary necessity\, political expediency\, and even a final act of revenge a gainst Hitler and the German people. All are compelling. The timing and th e operational design of the attack pose additional questions that cast dou bt on its legitimacy. The result of this air raid and the reactions to it – the underwhelming success\, the chaotic aftermath on the ground\, the uncomfortable triumphalism in the Allied media\, and the more sober reflec tions of some of the aircrew involved – add further controversy to the d ecision to order the attack. 80 years on there is merit in taking another look at the RAF’s last heavy bomber raid on Nazi Germany.\nTo reserve yo ur seat\, please select the “book now” label above or email \;melt onhistoryfare@gmail.com\n \;\n\n\nAdmission cost £3 per person\, paya ble on arrival.\n\n[caption id="attachment_3437" align="aligncenter" width ="300"] Obersalzberg RAF raid 25 April 1945[/caption]\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://historyfare.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/202 5/09/Obersalzberg-RAF-raid-25-April-1945.jpg LOCATION:RAF Association Melton Mowbray\, 24 Asfordby Road\, Melton Mowbray \, Leicestershire\, LE13 0HR\, United Kingdom X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=24 Asfordby Road\, Melton M owbray\, Leicestershire\, LE13 0HR\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-T ITLE=RAF Association Melton Mowbray:geo:0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251026T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR