 "Hitler Is Alive" machine -- an animated skull menaces a Kewpie doll at the old Fantastic Museum, Redmond, OR -- now closed. |
Hitler . . . how fast a typist was he? When did he find time to collect stamps?
Little-known aspects of the lifestyle of history's most reviled maniac are revealed in objets d'Adolf, scattered in museums around the US. This wealth of Hitlerabilia started as war trophies from W.W.II Germany, carted back by sentimental GIs.
Hitler's typewriter, from Hitler's mountain retreat, is the star artifact at the Hall of History, in Bessemer, Alabama.
Orders
that marched armies to their death -- typed here!
It's the most popular exhibit, even though it's never mentioned in any of the museum's literature. Curator Mable Waites discovered the typewriter in the museum's basement in the mid-eighties and the museum hasn't had any peace since.
Lots of people want to type their names on it, but Mable couldn't find a ribbon that fits. Mable's recent successor continues the search.
Hitler's
Stamp Collection used to be proudly displayed at the Fantastic Museum
in Redmond, Oregon (later in Sisters, OR) -- now we don't know where it
is. The stamps were found in Hitler's desk after W.W.II. As a fanatical Philatelist,
did his need to have stamps from every country boil over into something a
bit larger?
Other items:
- Hitlers Tea Service: Anniston, Alabama
- Hitler's 1935 Rolls Royce: The Thing, Cochise, Arizona
- Hitler's hat and Coat: Atlanta Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
- Hitler's Beer Steins: Nellie Kuska Museum, Lomita, California
- Hitler's Desk Keys (Berchtesgaden bomb shelter): Baldpate Inn, Estes Park, Colorado
- Hitler's Horse, St. Rose, Louisiana
- Hitler's Calling Card Bowl & Walking Stick: Don Pratt Memorial Museum, Clarksville, Tennessee
At the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia, there's an upside-down bronze Hitler head -- war booty taken from the verandah of Hitler's Mountain retreat by an infantryman. It was welded to a metal plate and used as a trash can for many years.
The 45th Infantry Division Museum, Oklahoma City, OK, displays a collection of artifacts owned by Adolf Hitler, items grabbed by American soldiers at his Munich apartment and at the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden. The main attraction: Hitler's Berlin bunker mirror, hung so you can stare into it with wild, darting maniac eyes just like he did in his final days.
Address: 840 Museum Dr, Anniston, AL [Show Map]
Directions: Berman Museum of World History. Jct. of Hwy 431 and 21. In Lagarde Park, next door to the Museum of Natural History.
Phone: 256-237-6261
Address: 1905 Alabama Ave., Bessemer, AL [Show Map]
Directions: Bessemer Hall of History Museum, Exit 112 off of I-20, 2 mi E on 18th St. L on Carolina Ave.
Hours: Tu-Sa 10 am - 4:30 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone: 205-426-1633
Address: 3800 S. Lumpkin Rd, Fort Benning, GA [Show Map]
Directions: National Infantry Museum. I-185 south from Columbus to exit 1B. Drive west on US 27/280/431 for about a mile, then turn left at the light onto Fort Benning Blvd. The museum will be a little more than a mile south, on the right.
Admission: Free.
Hours: M-Sa 9-5, Su 11-5 (Call to verify)
Phone: 706-545-2958
Address: Building 5702 Tennessee Ave., Fort Campbell, TN [Show Map]
Directions: Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum. Just south of the Kentucky border. I-24 exit 86 in Kentucky. South on US 41/41A for four miles. Enter Fort Campell through the main gate (Gate 4). Stop at the visitors center to obtain a visitor's vehicle registration certificate. Continue on Screaming Eagle Blvd/26th Street, through two stop lights, to the 3-way stop sign at the corner of 26th and Tennessee Avenue. Make a right onto Tennessee, and then a left into the museum's parking lot. The museum is a large brown metal building with Pratt Memorial Museum painted on the front.
Admission: Free, Military ID not required.
Hours: M-Sa 9:30-4:30. (Call to verify)
Phone: 270-798-4986/3215
Address: 2145 N.E. 36th Street, Oklahoma City, OK [Show Map]
Directions: Easy to get to off I-35, look for the signs.
Admission: Free, donations welcome.
Hours: Tu-F 9 am - 4:15 pm, Sa 10 am - 4:15 pm, Su 1 pm - 4:15 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone: 405-424-5313
