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Friday Morning
Today we visit a demolished bunker and an extremely POSH hotel and enjoy dinner with a man of history - but first,
                        sleepy little "Stadt" is waking up and the locals are constructing a Flea Market.
 

 

 

the Bunker!
 

                Why was this bunker here?
 

                     Who built it?
 

                            Why was it blown up?
 

                                Who blew it up?
 

                                         When was it blown up?
 
                              The re-bars took a tremendous load when the walls were blown out.

Like the tower at the other end of the lake which we saw earlier, the bunker at this end of the lake also commands a total view
 
No boat of any kind could move on this lake without being spotted by either this bunker or the tower at the other end of the lake.

 
So the questions again.................
     Who built this bunker (and the tower)?
     When were they built?
     Why were they built?

Quite simply - they were built just prior to or in the early years of World War Two - and they were built to protect the privacy of some very important and extremely high level Members of the Third Reich living here for years after the end of World War Two.

Sharkhunters Members are reading all the details in the monthly Sharkhunters KTB Magazine.  You can too.

And now we visit a magnificent hotel - built way out in the middle of nowhere at the western edge of Patagonia.

 

Again the same questions.........
     When was it built?
     Who built it?
     Why was it built?          Sharkhunters Members are reading all this history, you can too.

NOTE TO NON-MEMBERS.....Click our emblem here for information how you may become a Member, receive our monthly Magazine AND receive a FREE hand-signed photo of a veteran.  Just click our emblem here.
                                                                           

Okay, we are here is fantastically beautiful place - so why not enjoy brunch?
 

When was this place built?  It was built and opened 9 January 1938 - a strange time in history to build such a beautiful resort hotel so far away from civilization.  At that time, this was a full day's ride by bus - 24 hours - from Buenos Aires.

 
Yes, it opened 9 January 1938 but later that year, 26 October 1938 this place suffered a catastrophic fire with major damage.

 
The place re-opened 26 December 1939, three months after the beginning of the war, and - why was Dwight Eisenhower here a few years after the war?

After a very busy day, we return to base, freshen up and head out for dinner.
 
We are told that this door weighs more than 300 pounds - but HALEY has no trouble with it.

And it is time for dinner with a special friend.
 

 

During the war Erich Priebke was a Colonel (Obersturmbannführer) with the SS.  After the war, he came to this quiet little town and made a new life for himself - opened a shop, raised his children, was chief of the German school here and was a good citizen.  In the middle 1990's he was arrested and taken to Italy to stand trial for so-called 'war crimes'.  He was found not guilty by the military court and returned to his home and his family.  It wasn't long before 'outside pressure' caused him to be re-arrested, brought back to Italy and re-tried but this time in a civilian court.  He now lives under house arrest in his apartment in Rome (photo below left) where he is to remain for the rest of his life.  We met with his son (photo below right) for dinner this evening.

 

A very intelligent man, Priebke carried on conversations with COOPER in English, with NAHUEL in Spanish, with RIGOLF and RALPH in German...........all at the same time!  He gave us great insight into the history of this little town we call 'Stadt'.
 

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