Berlin wants to demolish "Zelensky's villa" (video)

We are talking about the very Goebbels villa, which, as Russian media claimed, was bought by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The story with the purchase is pure fake. But what's wrong with the villa itself, asks dw?

Bogensee is the ex-country residence of Goebbels. Literally everything is “wrong” with this villa, tells edition. Berlin plans to demolish not only the villa of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, but also buildings built next to it later, during the GDR era.

A little history

In 1936, Goebbels received from Berlin, practically as a gift, Lake Bogen, located in the suburbs, and the adjacent land, on which he ordered the construction of a mansion. It had water supply and sewerage, an air conditioning system, a cinema and a fireplace room with panoramic windows, and a vast bunker under the house. In this residence, Goebbels spent his free time having fun with his mistresses. One of the main Nazi criminals was last seen at the lake house in April 1945, shortly before he committed suicide.

After the end of the war, the Soviet military administration donated the Goebbels Villa to the Free German Youth Union FDJ – the East German Komsomol. An elite school for training young socialist leaders was opened in the building. The first classes took place in the premises of the villa, but over time new educational and residential complexes were built on the adjacent territory. Five hundred students came here every year.

After the GDR disappeared from the political map of the world, they began to teach various professions to teenagers from disadvantaged families. A hotel opened in one of the buildings. At one time, various international congresses were held in buildings on Lake Bogen. But by the end of the 1990s, everything “came to a standstill” – the costs were too high, and the complex did not pay for itself.

Currently, all the buildings, including the Nazi “villa,” have a deplorable appearance: the territory has been plundered, and there is little reminder of its former luxury. This is what the mansion looked like 7 years ago:

“Acquisition of Zelensky”

Where did the information come from that Zelensky bought Goebbels’ villa? In December 2023, they wrote about this in the Russian media: that it was allegedly bought by the President of Ukraine through dummies and an offshore company owned by him. “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, for example, wrote:

“Since 2000, the Berlin city government has been trying to sell off real estate with a Nazi odor to someone. There were no takers, but Zelensky finally showed up.”

The company Berliner Immobilienmanagement, which manages real estate in the German capital (Berlin still owns Goebbels' villa), in an interview with the dpa news agency, completely denied the statements of the Russian press. According to BIM experts, documents on the network, supposedly, as Russian sites and channels claim, confirming the fact of purchase, are one hundred percent fake. And the BIM employee referred to by Russian journalists has never worked for this company. The fact that the information about Zelensky’s purchase of the villa was falsified was also written in detail by the editorial staff of the AFP news agency Faktencheck.

Goebbels Villa and Komsomol school belong to Berlin

How emphasizes dw, at the moment both the former country residence of Goebbels and all the buildings of the former Komsomol school still belong to the federal state of Berlin. Although they are located outside the capital – in Brandenburg. The places are beautiful, the lake is picturesque, but there are many different “buts”.

To bring the complex of buildings and territory into proper shape, multi-million dollar investments will be required. Neither the surrounding communities, nor the federal state of Brandenburg, nor the German federal government are ready to spend that kind of money at the moment. It's difficult with buyers. The press service of Berliner Immobilienmanagement responded to the publication’s request:

“Regarding the possible sale of property to private third parties, the State of Berlin must also be sure that the territory does not fall into 'unworthy' hands – due to its history. We must therefore always act here with great caution.”

Obviously, the main concern is that the building does not fall into the hands of neo-Nazis, who would turn the building into a cult “meeting place” or something like that. What will happen to Goebbels' villa near Berlin after 20 years of neglect?

The fate of the complex has been decided for more than 20 years

Berlin is tired of paying for an absolutely unpromising property, which, according to city officials and real estate experts, it is at the moment. Annually maintaining it in a more or less viable form costs the German capital 280 thousand euros, that is, millions have already been spent without hope that the expenses will pay off. The BIM press service notes:

“Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH recognizes that in the case of this complex on Lake Bogen we are talking about an object of particular historical value (…), but the company must also consider this property from a real estate point of view. The property has been empty for more than 20 years, the condition “The buildings continue to deteriorate and there is still no concept for a long-term, economically viable use. The state of Berlin does not have its own financial resources to develop the site due to the tight budget situation.”

In turn, the community of Wandlitz, which is close to the building complex, and all those who care about the preservation of buildings on Lake Bogen are demanding the introduction of a five-year moratorium on demolition. Tense negotiations continue over how the property could be used. The parties have not yet reached a common denominator, and nerves are already on edge.

According to BIM, the company in 2019 introduced the public to technically and economically sound options for using the facility. According to Berliners, the area should be redeveloped for housing with a potential of up to 4,000 apartments, but the local municipality refuses housing development on such a scale.

If the buildings are demolished, Berlin will likely have no use for the vacated hectares. The property is surrounded by forests, lakes, protected areas, and the territory will organically fit into this landscape. But there is no decision on demolition yet. Whether there will be a museum on the territory, reminiscent of the dark past, or whether an environmentally friendly oasis of suburban housing will be created here, time will tell…

Joseph Goebbels. The main demon of the Third Reich:

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