Introduction to Villa Bogensee
The state of Berlin has made a last-ditch effort to prevent the demolition of a lakeside villa built for Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. The villa, located on Lake Bogensee in northeast Berlin, has been unused since 2000 and is in a state of disrepair. In an attempt to save the property, Berlin has offered it as a "gift" to anyone willing to cover the high maintenance costs.
The Current State of the Villa
The decaying villa complex, built in the National Socialist architectural style, could now be saved by temporarily handing over the site to the municipality of Wandlitz for tours and events. Berlin has not relinquished ownership of the property and will continue to bear annual management costs of around 200,000 euros. The municipality of Wandlitz has been trying to obtain a use permit for the site for years and is now planning to raise funds for the comprehensive renovation of the property, which is estimated to cost 300 million euros.
The History of Villa Bogensee
The villa was built for Goebbels on a 17-hectare plot of land just outside Berlin that the city gave him in 1936. The former Nazi PR chief used the residence as a retreat for his wife and his six children. In addition to entertaining Nazi leaders, artists, and actors, Goebbels is also said to have used the villa as a love nest for his many secret affairs. After Goebbels and his wife killed themselves and their children in a Berlin bunker in 1945, the villa was briefly used as a hospital before it was used by the youth department of the GDR KPD.
The Fall of the Villa
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the villa was used in various ways for about a decade before being largely abandoned. Maintenance and repairs have become a burdensome task for the state of Berlin and the federal government. Germany has long struggled with how to deal with former Nazi sites. Tearing them down would mean erasing the history they represent. But there is always the risk that right-wing extremists will gather if the locations remain deserted.
