Berlin Gives Away Hitler's Propaganda Minister's Villa for Free

In an attempt to end a decades-long dispute, Berlin's government has proposed giving away a villa once owned by Nazi Germany's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, as a gift. Previous efforts to transfer ownership have failed, and the overgrown and dilapidated site has become a maintenance and security burden for the city.

Berlin's government is offering to give away a villa once owned by Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister, in an attempt to resolve a decades-long debate about what to do with the sprawling, disused site.

Berlin's finance minister, Stefan Evers, announced the proposal in the state parliament, stating that the villa would be given as a gift from the state of Berlin to anyone who would take over the site.

"I offer to anyone who would like to take over the site, to take it over as a gift from the state of Berlin," Evers said.

The proposal follows repeated attempts by Berlin to hand off the site to federal authorities or the state of Brandenburg, where the villa is located. However, these efforts have consistently failed.

Evers renewed the offer, emphasizing the need for proposals that appropriately reflect the site's historical significance. He did not specify whether proposals from private individuals would be considered.

"If we fail again, as in the past decades, then Berlin has no other option but to carry out the demolition that we have already prepared for," Evers said.

Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler's closest associates, commissioned the construction of the luxurious villa in 1939. Situated on a scenic wooded site overlooking the Bogensee lake near Wandlitz, about 25 miles north of Berlin, the villa served as a retreat for Goebbels and his family.

Goebbels also utilized the villa and an earlier house on the site to host Nazi leaders, artists, and actors. It is rumored that he also used the villa for secret affairs.

After the war, the 42-acre site was briefly utilized as a hospital before being taken over by the youth wing of the East German communist party. The youth wing constructed a training center, including several large accommodation blocks.

Ownership of the site reverted to the state of Berlin after German reunification in 1990. However, the city found no use for it, and the site has since fallen into disrepair. It has become a popular destination for day-trippers who explore the overgrown grounds and gaze through the villa's floor-to-ceiling windows.

Goebbels returned to Berlin in the final stage of World War II. As Soviet troops closed in, he and his wife committed suicide in Hitler's bunker, taking their six children with them by administering cyanide capsules. The family's opulent home on an island in Berlin was sold at auction in 2011.