July 28, 1945

Egling, Germany

July 28, 1945

Dear Mother, Dad, & Girls:

             I just finished a letter to Rosalie. I had a letter from her and one from Mrs. Phillips tonight. I was out deer hunting this evening. We had got about two miles away from camp when it started raining like hell. Boy, I mean we looked like a bunch of drowned rats when we got back in.

            Well yesterday I made the trip up to Bertches Garden up in the mountains and it was sure pretty up there. Hitler had quite a home up there and the most beautiful view of the country that I ever saw. His home looked like most any other house of Germany might look except it was big, but he had everything under the sun on the inside of it. Why, he even had his own moving picture shows in there and I don’t know what he didn’t have in there. One whole side of a big room facing the valley below was a big window and it is said that he got his ideas for world conquest while looking out of this window. We also went over and looked at Gering’s (sp) house too. See all of Hitler’s big shots had homes up there on the mountain. There was a big hotel there that had three hundred rooms in it here where they all hung out. Well Gering had a big swimming pool right by the side of his house and it was made out of marble. It was really pretty I guess at one time. A big twelve thousand pound bomb hit right in the middle of it. There was a house on the hill that didn’t have bombs dropped on them and they were all ruined. I have a little booklet of the place but Hitler’s house is the only one in it that is shown. I will try to put it in an envelope and send it to you. It is all written in German but you can look at the pictures and I will write on it about the different things. Up on the highest peak of the mountain Hitler had an Eagles nest where he and his big shots done all of their planning of big things. This mountain home of Hitler’s is close to the city of Salzburg, Austria, only it is in Germany. We stopped in Salzburg late last night and had a swell supper there including all the ice cream we could eat. I took a few pictures while I was up there. I will send them home as soon as I get them developed. I have some pictures that I am sending home for you know. They aren’t very good though. Oh by the way, I got the real of film that you sent and that is what I used up at the garden. They got here just in time for me to take them cause I didn’t have any others. The films came to me in nine days. That isn’t bad is it? If you can get any more, send them to me.

            Well Dad, I wish you were here with me tonight. We have the hind quarters of the fattest little buck in the ice box that we are going to fry steaks off from tonight. We eat both hung quarters in one evening. They aren’t too big and we are all a bunch of hogs too. If you were here, I would take you trout fishing every evening and hunting too if you liked. You know it is against the law of the army to fire a shot unless it is necessary over here now. Our platoon commander knows that we go hunting though and even comes up and eats some of our steaks. It isn’t against the law to kill the deer though. We tell them that we ran the deer in a cave and then beat them to death with a club. He just laughs and keeps his mouth shut cause he likes his deer steaks just as well as we do and he loves to hunt so he understands. Well I hope you are all well and everything is all right. I typed this thing in a hurry and made a lot of mistakes but I am in a hurry to go hunting again. It has cleared up now and a swell time to go hunting now. Ha.

Love to all,
Your son,
Max

P.S. – Here are the negatives to the pictures. I sent Rosalie some of the same pictures so don’t send any on to her.