Garmisch Military Post (Source: Pictorial Europe, HQ USAFE) The Chiemsee Leave Center near Rosenheim, used by US Forces; beautiful aerial view, early 1950s. Adolf Hitler commissioned the building of the Chiemsee Hotel in 1937 (now the Lake Hotel) to impress dignitaries traveling from his Eagles’ Nest in Berchtesgaden to the Munich airport. The Park Hotel was added in 1938. After the war, AFRC took over the resort to provide well-deserved rest and relaxation to the thousands of service members still in Europe. The two hotels and grounds have remained very much the same over the years. The dining room contains most of the original furniture, lighting fixtures and large Bavarian paintings. The best-known artwork, a beautiful cast-bronze mermaid, sits on the Chiemsee deck gazing out at the lake. She became the hotel’s symbol, emblazoned on employee nametags in the early years. The mermaid also appears in the large clock centerpiece on the hotel’s west wall.