The Residence
The Residence
Mar-a-Lago is a residence in Palm Beach, Florida, built from 1924 to 1927 by cereal-company heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post. The 126-room, 110,000-square-foot mansion since 1994 contains the Mar-a-Lago Club, a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. It is located on the Palm Beach barrier island, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida's Intracoastal Waterway to the west.
At the time of her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service, but because the costs of maintaining the property exceeded the funds provided by Post, the property was returned to the Post Foundation by an Act of Congress in 1981.
In 1985, Mar-a-Lago was purchased by Trump for around $10 million. He used the mansion as a residence for eight years, before converting it into the Mar-a-Lago Club. His family maintains private quarters in a separate, closed-off area of the house and grounds. Trump frequently visited there during his tenure as president of the United States, referring to it as the Winter White House and his "Southern White House".
The Berghof was Adolf Hitler's home in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany. Other than the Wolfsschanze ("Wolf's Lair"), his headquarters in East Prussia for the invasion of the Soviet Union, he spent more time here than anywhere else during World War II. It was also one of the most widely known of his headquarters.
By 1933, Hitler had purchased Haus Wachenfeld with funds he received from the sale of his political manifesto Mein Kampf. The small chalet-style building was refurbished and much expanded by architect Alois Degano during 1935–36 when it was renamed the Berghof (English: "Mountain Court").
Besides the fact they were quite large, there are numerous other similarities:
They were both existing residences located in the southern section of their country which after being purchased were extensively renovated and expanded by their new owners.
Trump bought Mar-a-Lago located in Southern Florida in 1985 and then completed extensive renovations, which included adding a 20,000 square foot ballroom.
Hitler bought a small chalet called Haus Wachenfeld, located in the Bavarian Alps in 1933, and then completed extensive renovations which included large masonry additions of a main house, an added wing, an enlarged garage, and a new terrace.
They both extensively entertained guests at their renovated residences:
Trump's guests included Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Rudy Giuliani, Heidi Klum, Star Jones, P. Diddy, Shaquille O'Neal, Barbara Walters, Conrad Black, Regis Philbin, Simon Cowell, and Kelly Ripa.
Hitler's guests included David Lloyd George, the Aga Khan, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, Neville Chamberlain, and Benito Mussolini.
They both had sycophants living in nearby residences:
Trump: Hannity, etc., subsequently purchased nearby houses.
Hitler: Göring, Boremann, Speer, etc, purchased nearby houses.
They both had a pink hue when viewed from the outside.
They both became gathering places, where fans, supporters, and sycophants could visit and hope to catch a glimpse of their leader:
They both renovated¹ and furnished their residences to highlight their personal style and taste:
Trump and Hitler and the interior of The Residence
Trump & fans (above) - Hitler & fans (below)
¹ Renovating residences was not limited to Trump and Hitler:
Herman Göring
As Minister-President of Prussia, Göring laid claim to a luxurious villa for the Prussian Minister of Commerce and had the chief architect of the civil service rebuild and refurnish the villa in lavish style at Prussian government expense. Among the features was a study based on Mussolini's in Rome and a white alabaster staircase done in red and gold. The villa also may have contained a den for his pet lion cub.
After the renovation was complete, Hitler commented unfavorably "Dark! How can anyone live in such darkness . . . ". Göring then called in Albert Speer to remodel it, stating " . . . it must turn out like the Führer's place.".
Hunting was a passion of Göring's, so he persuaded Prussia to set aside 100,000 acres as his personal estate. There overlooking Wackersee lake he built a hunting lodge/Nordic palace fit for an emperor.
Grand reception area, sweeping staircases, basement swimming pool with an eighty-foot-long attic containing a massive railway layout.
To play the part he dressed up in pseudo-medieval outfits of long leather jerkins, soft top boots, silk voluminous shirts while carrying a spear.
Note: Eric and Donald Trump, Jr. own a massive private hunting preserve in upstate New York — and neighbors say it sounds like a 'war zone' - Business Insider, Feb 14, 2018
In 1936 Göring built himself an alpine retreat on the Obersalzberg, very close to Hitler's which had been just completed.
By comparison, and by Göring's standards, it was quite modest - no doubt careful not to overshadow the Führer's place.
As Reichsminister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Goebbels took over a former palace of the marshals of the Prussian Court. He ordered Speer to refurbish the interior and add a large hall for receptions
Emil Nolde watercolors were "borrowed" from the Berlin National Gallery, but were subsequently replaced because Hitler found them far too modern.
When Speer replaced them he commented in his diaries, "this conjunction of power and servility of Goebbel's part, which struck me as weird".
- Anthony Read, The Devil's Disciple, chapter XIV "The End of the Brown Revolution"