If the Axis Powers had won World War II, a group of American Nazi sympathizers hoped to lure Adolf Hitler to Los Angeles, where he would win the hearts and minds of the Hollywood elite. So assured were these Hitler fans of Germany's victory that they spent millions of dollars building the Führer a luxury ranch.


The group, called the Silver Shirts, built the compound in the 1930s after persuading mining heiress Jessie Murphy, who had purchased the land from Will Rogers, to invest $4 million (the modern-day equivalent to $66 million) in its construction. The Silver Shirts took up residence there — why not live in the boss's house while he's not using it — hoping to ride out the war. And the specifications make it sound like a sweet place to hide:

Equipped with a diesel power plant, 375,000 gallon concrete water tank, giant meat locker, 22 bedrooms and even a bomb shelter...


There were even plans to expand the compound with libraries, a gym, and a swimming pool once the money came through from Germany. But instead, police raided the ranch the day after the Pearl Harbor attack, and the Nazis were ousted from their digs. After that, it was home to a hippie commune and novelist Henry Miller, but eventually the ranch was abandoned.

The structures still stand, decaying close to the homes of the rich and famous while attracting copious amounts of graffiti, but it won't be there much longer. There are plans to bulldoze the ranch and covert it into a picnic area. Until then, it stands as an eerie ghost of Hitler's rule.

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See more pictures at the Daily Mail. [via The Mary Sue]