| Original caption: “After a three hour meeting, the Führer strides exhausted through the lines of Sturm Abteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS) comrades, surrounded by the cheers of thousands who now have new faith and new hope.” Führer des Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP – “Leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party” – The Nazis) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945), exits Schellingstraße 50 in Munich, the former Nazi Party Headquarters, on his way to the Braunes Haus (“Brown House”) at Brienner Straße 45. Schellingstraße 50 was the Nazi Party Headquarters from 1925 until 1931; it has grown too small, with the staff expanding from 4 to 60 in that time. The Brown House, the Munich mansion located between the Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz, before known as the Palais Barlow. The Nazis purchased it from Elizabeth Stefanie Barlow (July 12, 1873 – March 1, 1960) on May 26, 1930. The house was converted from an urban villa to an office building by the architect Paul Troost (August 17, 1878 – January 21, 1934). William L. Shirer (February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) wrote, “At the top of the pyramid of the intricate party organization stood Adolf Hitler with the ‘highfalutin’ title of Partei-und-Oberster-SA-Fuehrer, Vorsitzender der NSDAV (“Supreme Leader of the Party and the Sturm Abteilung (SA), Chairman of the National Socialist German Labor Organization”). Directly attached to his office was the Reichsleitung (“Reich Directorate”) which was made up of the top bosses of the party and such useful officials as the Reichsschatzmeister (“Reich Treasurer”) and the Reichsgeschäftsführer der NSDAP (“Reich Business Manager”). Visiting the palatial Brown House in Munich, the national headquarters of the party, during the last years of the Republic, 1 got the impression that here indeed were the offices of a state within a state. That, no doubt, was the impression Hitler wished to convey, for it helped to undermine confidence, both domestic and foreign, in the actual German State, which he was trying to overthrow. “Hitler had a huge ‘work-room’ in the new ‘Brown House’ – a building of tasteless grandiosity that he was singularly proud of. Pictures of Frederick the Great and a heroic scene of the List Regiment’s first battle in Flanders in 1914 adorned the walls. A monumental bust of Mussolini stood beside the outsized furniture. Smoking was forbidden. To call it Hitler’s ‘work-room’ was a nice euphemism. Hitler rarely did any work there. Hanfstaengl, who had his own room in the building, had few memories of Hitler’s room since he had seen the party leader there so seldom. Even the big painting of Frederick the Great, noted the former foreign press chief, could not motivate Hitler to follow the example of the Prussian king in diligent attention to duty. He had no regular working hours. Appointments were there to be broken. Ernst Hanfstaengl (February 2, 1887 – November 6, 1975) had often to chase through Munich looking for the party leader to make sure he kept appointments with journalists. Hanfstaengl could invariably find Hitler at 1600 Hours, surrounded by his admirers, holding forth in the Café Heck.” Schellingstraße 50 is private property today. The Brown House was destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in October 1943. The basement was excavated in 2006 and the Munich NS-Dokumentationszentrum (“Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism”) was built on the site and opened in 2015. This photo was published in Hitler Wie ihn Keiner Kennt (“The Hitler No One Knows: A Hundred Pictures of the Life of the Führer”) Berlin: Zeitgeschichte Verlag (“Contemporary History Publishing House”), 1932. Author Heinrich Hoffmann (September 12, 1885 – December 16, 1957) was Adolf Hitler’s official photographer, and a Nazi politician and publisher, who was a member of Hitler’s inner circle. Hoffmann’s photographs were a significant part of Hitler’s propaganda campaign to present himself and the Nazi Party as a significant mass phenomenon. He received royalties from all uses of Hitler’s image, which made him a millionaire over the course of Hitler’s rule. After the 2nd World War he was tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison for war profiteering. Reichsjugendführer (“National Youth Leader”) Baldur von Schirach (May 9, 1907 – August 8, 1974) wrote the introduction. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1712.jpg |
| Image Size | 647.51 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2810 x 2000 |
| Photographer | Heinrich Hoffmann |
| Photographer Title | Heinrich Hoffmann Presse |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1931 |
| Location | |
| City | Munich |
| State or Province | Bavaria |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | Calvin University |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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