SAN FRANCISCO — Days after the end of World War II, a 28-year-old American soldier entering the wreckage of Adolf Hitler’s mountain stronghold found that fierce Allied bombing had left the so-called Eagle’s Nest in ruins.
Hitler was dead, and other soldiers had already looted the inside of his private residence. Nearly everything of value was gone — except for Hitler’s globe.
“Literally, the place is all bombed out and here this globe is sitting there on the desk,” said John Barsamian, now 91.
Now Barsamian is putting the artifact up for auction, along with all the military paperwork that allowed him to bring it back to the United States, including a certificate that reads “1 Global Map, German, Hitler’s Eagle Nest.”
Barsamian boxed it up with a few other keepsakes, including a pistol and a dagger, and shipped them home.
For Barsamian, the globe evokes memories of another era. Running his finger across a World War II-era map of Europe, he described his division’s advance into Nazi territory.
But the war was also a painful time. “I lost those years,” he said. “Those years with my father and mother and brothers are gone.”
Barsamian is selling the globe now, while he’s still alive, so he can personally tell the story behind it and share his experience in the war, says his son, Barry.
The globe will be auctioned Nov. 13 in San Francisco.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.