Whenever Hitler visited Nuremberg, he stayed at the Deutscher Hof hotel.
He had a large room on the first floor and, later on, his own ‘Führer balcony’ from where he would review the various marches and parades.
Nuremberg was defended to the bitter end. After 5 days of intense house-to-house fighting, the city finally fell to the US 7th Army on April 20, 1945. Ironically, Hitler’s birthday – and just 10 days before his eventual suicide.
Here is a rare leather writing set or blotter used at the hotel. This would probably have been used by guests in the communal areas, or even on the main reception desk.
The GI’s details are sadly lost to time, but he pinned his campaign ribbons into the folder: American Campaign Medal; Purple Heart; WW2 Victory Medal with 1 battle star; and his European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, with 2 battle stars.
