Hitler saved Blackpool from Blitz.....

**Kyt** · 02-24-2009, 03:40 AM

.....because he wanted it as a personal playground

Adolf Hitler saved Blackpool from Blitz because he wanted it as a personal playground - Telegraph

Adolf Hitler may have blitzed much of Britain's heritage but Blackpool was spared because he wanted it as a personal playground after the war, new documents suggest.

The Fuhrer dreamed of his troops goose-stepping down the Golden Mile and unfurling the Swaztika on top of Blackpool Tower, it was revealed.

His invasion plans of Great Britain included making the Lancashire resort a headquarters for his paratroopers and also a "playground" for him and his men.

The plan explains why Blackpool escaped almost unscathed from the Luftwaffe'as bombing blitz despite the fact the RAF built hundreds of Wellington bombers in the town and thousands of troops went on leave there.

The German intelligence maps have been recovered from a military base and clearly reveal how Hitler had earmarked the safety of Blackpool Tower and the three piers.

His planned invasion included marching soldiers along the coastline after a drop by paratroopers in the resort's Stanley Park.

The ornate Italian Gardens in the park was to be used as a paratroops guide because the pathways formed a perfect compass.

Elaine Smith chairman of Blackpool's Civic Trust said: "These maps will be the source of much interest particularly to those who lived here through the Second World War."

"It had been known that Hitler intended to use Blackpool as his personal playground after what he hoped to be a successful invasion and the war ended." "We did escape a lot of the bombing despite the fact so many troops were in the town and there were major aircraft manufacturing factories here."

"He probably wanted to keep the resort as it was so he could enjoy it as Chancellor of Britain."

The marked maps and aerial photos were seen by Hitler in the early 1940's when his plans to take over Britain were at their height.

They correctly show what is now South Pier under its then name of Victoria Pier and a large swimming pool-now gone- is close by.

They were rescued from Germany by York based publisher Michael Cole who said: "I got them from Germany about a year ago.

"They have immense historical significance as they are some of the last surviving remnants of invasion material."

**Kyt** · 02-24-2009, 03:40 AM

Did Hitler really like to be beside the seaside? - Yorkshire Post

CLAIMS that Hitler intended to make Blackpool a Nazi pleasure playground are "utter nonsense", according to the York-based bookseller whose collection of German war documents prompted the speculation.
Michael Cole, 67, recovered plans and aerial photographs of hundreds of British towns, including several in Yorkshire, from a German military base last year.

After months spent carefully cataloguing the documents, the antiquarian book dealer placed them on sale three days ago, prompting fevered speculation that Blackpool escaped bombing during the Second World War because Hitler wanted to set up camp in the seaside town.

But Mr Cole said his maps and pictures show no such thing. "You might as well say this proves Hitler wanted to come here to play cricket," he said. "I'm very embarrassed and absolutely furious about the whole thing."

The bookseller says local historians have long believed the Nazi leader had his eye on Blackpool as a base, but he is perplexed as to how his documents were linked to that theory.

"The idea that these documents prove that Hitler decided not to bomb Blackpool because he wanted to set up residence there is utter nonsense. The two things are unrelated," he said.

Mr Cole's find led to speculation the documents revealed that Hitler "dreamed of his troops goose-stepping down the Golden Mile and unfurling the swastika on top of Blackpool Tower".

But Mr Cole, who has since been approached for interviews by several television channels, said the claims were "tabloid rubbish".

The rare documents comprise 159 British town plans drawn up by the German military as part of preliminary planning for a ground invasion, and around 300 sets of aerial photographs intended for use by Luftwaffe pilots during the Blitz.

They include aerial images of Leeds, York, Scarborough and Wakefield, among other Yorkshire towns and cities.

Mr Cole said: "These are not just ordinary photographs; you're actually holding a bit of paper that was designed by Luftwaffe pilots who were making bombing raids on this county."

The antiquarian bookseller has been trading in York since 1980. His Second World War documents can be viewed at GermanInvasion.co.uk : German military and Luftwaffe maps, photographs, town plans, documents.