The WW2 Diary of Private Donald Blackey – Inside Hitler’s Bunker

One month after his 21st birthday in September 1942, Private Donald Blackey, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, of Massachusetts sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, to fight in WW2. Two and a half eventful years later, he snuck into the elaborate bunker beneath Hitler’s Berghof residence near Berchtesgaden, Germany, and made a bold move.

Blackey’s niece, Jeanie, read the recent article about my visit to the Eagle’s Nest— just up the mountain from the Berghof. She sent me a surprise message about her uncle’s exploits. And she shared with me his forbidden diary, with rare contemporaneous accounts of key events during WW2. The entries reveal Blackey’s mischievous side and remarkably good luck during the war. But you won’t believe what Blackey found at the Berghof and sent home to his sister and girlfriend.

Donald Blackey’s Clandestine Diary

We’re fortunate to know anything at all about Donald Blackey’s wartime adventures. Officially, American soldiers weren’t allowed to keep diaries during WW2, for fear they’d fall into the wrong hands. But Blackey journaled his wartime experience anyway, in several Army-issued “Permanent Record” books small enough to fit in your palm. He hid them at the bottom of his duffle bag and brought the collection home from the front in September 1945. 

Later, Blackey’s sister and niece consolidated the notebooks verbatim into a single volume, which they published on Amazon with the help of other family members under the title, Saved by Song. (Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualified purchases.)

The title of the book is a nod to Blackey’s talent as a singer, which sometimes drew him away from the front. Military officials often recruited the accomplished tenor— who later performed on Broadway and the Ed Sullivan Show— to sing during religious services or boost morale by entertaining the troops.

Donald Blackey’s Service During WW2

Still, Blackey saw plenty of action with the 3rd Infantry Division, which fought on all European fronts during WW2 and lost more men (26,000) in combat than any other division. Blackey arrived first in Morocco and helped drive the Germans out of Africa. Later, he took part in the invasions of Italy and France, including the hard-fought assaults on Anzio and Colmar. Along the way, he participated in amphibious landings, saw firsthand the carnage of prolonged artillery barrages, and suffered the loss of close friends.

In his diary, Blackey recounts several occasions when Axis bullets missed him by inches and shells landed perilously close. Shrapnel even passed through his helmet and pierced his jeep’s gas tank. But there was no explosion, and Blackey survived with just a knick to the head. The diary preserves striking, eyewitness accounts of life as an American soldier during WW2.

Arrival at Hitler’s Berghof

By April 1945, Donald Blackey found himself in Berchtesgaden, Germany, a scenic village in the Bavarian Alps. Two miles up the mountain stood Obersalzberg, a privileged community that served as the second seat of government during the Third Reich. There the Nazis built an extensive military compound and underground bunker system— and senior officials enjoyed lavish homes. Hitler’s residence at Obersalzberg— called the Berghof— was the Fuhrer’s favorite.

The Bunker Beneath the Berghof

On May 7th, 1945 — one week after Hitler’s suicide and a day after German troops in the sector surrendered— Donald Blackey wrote in his diary:

“…From Berchtesgaden, a road climbs steeply up the mountain to Hitler’s house. The house was a beautiful place. The structure is all burnt inside, but it has held its shape… The 3rd Division took Berchtesgaden and Hitler’s house. Went down the long flight of steps to his air raid shelter which is another house underground. Was lucky to be able to sneak down because it is off limits. They say there is important stuff around. We went down when the guard wasn’t there. Regular living quarters and everything the best. Special electric and ventilating systems are untouchable by anything. 100 rooms all drilled out of solid rock in the heart of the mountain…” 

An Unexpected Find

Then Blackey described what he found in the bunker:

“…I took twelve gold-bordered hand painted plates and two platters, Hitler’s special dinner china, for Betty [Blackey’s sister] and Sally [Blackey’s girlfriend]. I hid the set in the shelter for safekeeping. It’s a souvenir that can’t be beat. It will really be something for Betty and Sally— 6 plates and a platter apiece. I had a hard time carrying them out over the bombed stuff without breaking them. It’s almost impossible to get anything away from there for a souvenir, but we hid and took off. The view from Hitler’s balcony is terrific…”

I wonder if Blackey knew British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and (former) King Edward VIII and his American wife, Wallis Simpson, also enjoyed that view.

Special Delivery

Blackey wrapped the delicate porcelain in newspaper and carefully packed it for shipment home. He tucked a letter inside with more details about his discovery of the china:

“… Arrived at a place high in the mountains at Hitler’s house. It has been bombed and all the buildings around it and also burnt… Climbed around the shell holes… Guards are on the entrances to Hitler’s air raid shelter but we got in through knowing a guard. Went down a long flight of stairs into the center of the mountain and into the shelter. There are elaborate facilities of all kinds so if he wanted to stay underground indefinitely. Bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, small theater, operating room, etc…. Big steel doors to cut off any part of shelter. Hitler has brought his most expensive belongings down here for safekeeping… This is a real souvenir and something no one in the world can hope to match.”

A Gift from the Regent of Hungary

Blackey likely didn’t know the twelve plates and two platters were part of a unique collection of hand painted, gilded porcelain made by the prestigious Herend company of Hungary. Admiral Miklós Horthy, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, commissioned the set of 48 place settings and gave it to Hitler in October 1937 to win his favor. Each piece in the collection is distinguished by three markings— Horthy’s coat of arms, the Herend company’s mark, and the Nazi eagle and swastika. (Horthy knew from prior interactions that Hitler liked the colorful butterfly motif originally chosen by Queen Victoria.)  

What to Do With Hitler’s Herend Porcelain

The china survived the journey to Blackey’s girlfriend and sister back in Massachusetts. When the couple broke up, Sally returned her porcelain pieces to Blackey, whose family still owns the collection. But no one is willing to use it. Instead, they keep the china in a bank vault, unsure what to do with it.

Authentication of Hitler’s Herend Porcelain

Seventy-four years after Donald Blackey shipped the porcelain home— and 32 years after his death— representatives of Herend Porcelain Manufactory authenticated the plates and platters as part of the gift set commissioned by Horthy specifically for Hitler.

Blackey wasn’t the only serviceman to keep souvenirs from WW2, as evidenced by the auction of similar “war memorabilia” and “relics” online. But Blackey’s family has no desire to profit from the porcelain or see it fall into the wrong hands. Efforts are underway to find a permanent home for Hitler’s Herend porcelain at an appropriate museum that will honor Donald Blackey’s military service, unique story, and unusual connection to history.

A Note About Names

American soldiers near Berchtesgaden commonly mistook Hitler’s Berghof residence at Obersalzberg for the Eagle’s Nest at the top of the same mountain. Their correspondence at the time frequently reflected that misunderstanding. But the Nazis used the Eagle’s Nest primarily for diplomatic receptions and other special occasions. And it was never struck by Allied bombers. It survives to this day.  

Personal Connections to History

I created this blog to help travelers find unique experiences across the globe. And some of the destinations highlighted here, like the Eagle’s Nest, inevitably reflect my love for history, however dark it sometimes may be. But regular readers know I’m particularly fond of connecting to historical events through the stories of people who have, or had, a direct link to them. In my opinion, that’s the best way to understand the past in its full, human context.

When I wrote about Emilie Klingenberger’s stolperstein in Prague, though, I never imagined her great-granddaughter in the Netherlands would see the article and post an appreciative comment on my website. And when I blogged about the Flight 93 National Memorial, a friend of one of the passengers reached out on my Facebook page. I was simultaneously thrilled to hear from them and wowed by the reach of the Internet.

Lives Worth Remembering

And so it was when Jeanie emailed me about her Uncle Donald. Because history, after all, is a collection of stories— stories about people. People who lived remarkable lives. Lives worth remembering. And when you have a personal connection to places and events, they’re infinitely more meaningful and memorable.

So if you one day find yourself in Berchtesgaden, where “a road climbs steeply up the mountain,” remember Donald Blackey— the young kid from Massachusetts who gifted us a remarkable story. And his niece, Jeanie, who preserved and shared it.

Postscript

Author’s Note: The original version of this post omitted mention of Blackey’s grandnephew, DC Walker. Walker expanded Saved by Song to include new information from the Herend company about the plates and other important updates.

Interested in WW2? Be sure to read my article about the 1942 assassination of SS leader Reinhard Heydrich by the Czech resistance in Prague. It guides you to the assassins’ hideout— still pockmarked by Nazi bullets— where resistance fighters held out against hundreds of SS troops.

And read my article about WW2 sites in Malta to find secret underground command centers there and discover the tiny Mediterranean island’s role in winning WW2. There’s even an eyewitness account from Blackey’s diary about the invasion of Sicily.