Berchtesgaden gave rise to "Malereck" ("painters' corner") on the shore of Königssee in nearby Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. The most famous author who lived in Berchtesgaden was Ludwig Ganghofer. Adolf Hitler had been vacationing in the Berchtesgaden area since the 1920s. He purchased a home in the Obersalzberg above the town on the flank of the Hoher Goll and began extensive renovations on his "Berghof" in the following years. As other top Third Reich figures such as Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Heinrich Himmler and Albert Speer began to frequent the area the Party began to purchase and requisition land in
Fortified Sector of the Escaut Billotte. The SF Escaut was commanded by General Echard, then General Béjard from May 1940. The sector included, in order from west to east, the following major fortified positions, together with the most significant casemates and infantry shelters in each sub-sector: 54th Fortress Infantry Regiment ("54e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)"), Lt. Colonel Delcure Raismes Forest Line (CORF) (108th CEO) Resistance line (FCR/STG): 107th CEO 106th CEO Second line in front of Valenciennes (FCR/STG) Second Position (CEZF) (1940) Following the surrender or evacuation of the Fortified Sector of Maubeuge to the east, the German 253rd Infantry Division began to bombard