Henry Picker on Eva Braun and Hitler

“A few hours afterward, I was standing alone in the great room of the Berghof and Hitler sauntered up to me. He was also alone. We both admired the view, though it was obscured by fog that day. Then he casually asked me what I had thought of Miss Braun.

“I was very surprised, because aside from a few questions about my background and my studies in Kiel, Hitler had never addressed a single personal question to me. Thankfully, I had earlier been handed a flask by an SS guard, who doubled as a waiter at the table.

“Several large swallows of cognac had made me light-headed and more chatty than usual. At that moment I was happy I had the cognac to fortify me.

“I said, “Mein Führer, I think I can pay Fräulein Braun a great compliment. She has such a graceful and sporty figure that…

“…a simple Dirndl (Bavarian outfit) would look as beautiful on her as an elegant evening dress.”

“I waited for Hitler to answer me, but he remained silent. I nervously glanced at him and was relieved to see he [sic] nodding very slightly. It seemed he was quietly pleased with…

“…my remark about his lover (seine Geliebte), but he never said a single word to me at that time. However, he didn’t forget my comment, because he was to reference it later (more on this in a bit).

“In the coming weeks on the mountain, I got to know Eva much better.

“Without question she was the most human element in Hitler’s…

“(Hitler consented in 1931 to have his hand photographed in Berlin, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. Some say it was for a compilation of “famous hands,” others think it was done for some other reason.)

“…circle. She took liberties with him that no one else dared to do. For instance, for the months I was at the Berghof, Eva attended mass every Sunday. No one else would have done this, Bormann would probably have forbade it. But Eva did as she liked, with Hitler’s approval.

“I liked to ski, as did she, but my duties prevented me from going with her. I heard from Minister (Albert) Speer that Eva was a good skier. She also liked to walk long distances and once asked me to go with her. I didn’t know until an hour later, that our walk would…

“…be at least 12 kilometers and last two hours!

“It was during our first walk that we discovered something amazing: we both shared the same date of birth: February 6, 1912. This made us both astounded and happy. When we returned to the Berghof, Eva immediately sought…

“…out Hitler and told him of this strange coincidence.

“Hitler clapped me on the back lightly, a gesture highly unusual for him. He was not inclined to touch his associates, unless they were his devoted secretaries.

““Well, Picker,” he said. “You have been born on a fortuitous day. No wonder you study women’s clothes so carefully and so adroitly.” Then he said no more, but had a twinkle in his eye when he said it.

“Later that evening, Eva asked me what Hitler had meant by his remark.

“I smiled, a bit embarrassed, and told her of the comment I had made to him about her looking as beautiful in a Dirndl as in an evening dress. Eva looked at me with gleaming eyes, laid her hand gently on my forearm and said, “Thank you. That means a lot to me, Herr Picker.”

“She was genuinely moved. It was rare that any man dared pay Eva Braun a compliment since everyone probably feared Hitler’s wrath.

“People after the war, and even today, always ask me about Hitler and Eva’s relationship. So much sensationalism and untruths center around it.

“I always tell them the facts: that Eva was a pretty and sweet girl who loved the Fuehrer and that Hitler loved her too.

“Whether he loved her earlier on, I can’t say because I wasn’t around in that period. But I spent many evenings with them for two years and shared many…

“…meals at the Berghof with them. But from what I observed during the war, he loved her as much as was capable of loving.

“Hitler was always respectful and affectionate with Eva. But only in that small, trusted circle on the mountain. She was never allowed to be about the…

“…grounds when generals came, or outsiders. She also always had two S.S.men accompany her everywhere she went outside to do her sporty activities.

“Hitler was also more inclined to let his guard down around Eva. She was familiar with him, but did not show…

“…overt affection. Yet she looked at him with a look of adoration. Any man who observed her with Hitler would know immediately, “this woman is in love.” It’s a look many men never experience in their entire lives.

“She had to hide so much in her life, but she was…

“…incapable of hiding her feelings for him, for they showed in her eyes. I never had the nerve to ask Eva about Hitler, but she would talk freely about him to me, sometimes in a light-hearted way. She hated his military caps, she hated his habit of turning night into day…

“…confessed to me she was actually a morning person. But because of Hitler’s night owl habits, she had to grow accustomed to arising at noon.

“Eva was nice to everyone at the Berghof. I never saw her snap at the helpers, she was reserved to them, but polite and correct…

“I spent even more time with her in 1942-43 at the mountain house. I always looked forward to being with her because she was a good comrade, friendly and sunny. She also got me out of many a problem with Bormann, whom she detested…

“I also wish to point out that Eva had a calming influence on Hitler. At the military HQ, he was usually all business and consumed with work and worry. The nervous oppression he was subjected to really was obvious.

“But in the private circle of the Berghof, he let his…

“…cares fall away somewhat. I am convinced it was because of Eva’s presence and her ability to calm him, divert his mind from the war, and allow him to be merely Adolf Hitler, not der Führer.”

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Source: Source: Fuhrperium; translation by Putschgirl