'Most affectionately, A. Hitler': The platinum watch given to Eva Braun by Nazi leader just months before start of Second World War

  • Adolf Hitler gave watch to Eva Braun for 27th birthday on February 6, 1939
  • Found by Spiegel researchers at Gallery of the Modern in Munich, Germany
  • Braun had secret relationship with Hitler in 1930s and they married in 1945
  • But the couple committed suicide one day later as enemy forces closed in

This is the platinum watch given by Adolf Hitler to his mistress Eva Braun for her 27th birthday.

The Eszeha watch was engraved with 'Zum 6.2.1939 herzlichst A. Hitler' (‘On 6 February 1939, most affectionately, A. Hitler’) with a registration code of 86439 and had been hidden in a Munich museum.

It was found at the Pinakothek der Moderne (Gallery of the Modern) by researchers with Der Spiegel (The Mirror) magazine, stored together with other valuable Nazi objects hidden from the public.

Eva Braun.jpg

From the past: The Eszeha watch (left) belonging to Eva Braun (right) had been hidden at a Munich museum

Miss Braun met the Nazi leader through Heinrich Hoffman, whom she worked for as an assistant. He became Hitler’s personal photographer and the couple had a secret romance in the 1930s.

Hitler’s mistress joined him in Berlin towards the end of the war and they married on April 29 1945, before committing suicide together the next day - to avoid being captured by enemy troops.

Miss Braun was born in 1912 in Munich and she attended a convent school. The relationship with Hitler was kept secret until after the Second World War had finished in 1945.

It comes as Angela Merkel had to choose what to do with her office rug after it was found to be part of a collection of treasures looted by wartime air force chief and deputy Fuehrer Hermann Goering.

Adolf Hitler

Gift: The watch from Hitler (left) was engraved (right) with 'On 6 February 1939, most affectionately, A. Hitler'

Secret relationship: An undated photo of Adolf Hitler (left) and his mistress Eva Braun (right) while dining


The rug in the German Chancellor’s office was discovered by Der Spiegel journalists writing about Nazi booty that is still scattered about government guest houses, offices and in museums.

Mrs Merkel was said to be furious at the embarrassing revelation, coming as it does months before her third bid for power in the general election and with the opposition snapping at her heels.

The rug was said to be one of more than 600 objects that the government still uses from the vast mountain of looted artworks that Goering and others amassed for themselves during the war.

Also found in the Pinakothek der Moderne museum were many possessions of Goering, such as platinum and gold cufflinks, a ring with diamonds as well as a golden cup for champagne.