The villa that was owned by Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels poses a costly maintenance burden for the Berlin municipality, which is currently showing readiness to gift it away. For years, Berlin authorities have been puzzled over how to revive this luxurious property, built along a lakeside on a vast area of 17 hectares in the countryside surrounding the German capital. During a session of the local government on Thursday, Finance Minister Stefan Evers stated, "I will give the land to anyone who wishes to take care of it; it's a gift from Berlin."
He added that the property is located about 40 kilometers from Berlin in the state of Brandenburg, but neither the authorities in this region nor the government have shown interest in such a "generous gift." The land was offered to Joseph Goebbels in 1936, and a massive house was built on it, financed by Universal Film (UFA), a large film production company that Goebbels headed.
The building, designed in the shape of a "U," includes a private cinema hall and spacious living rooms overlooking Lake Boganzi, where Goebbels hosted stars and personalities. The "Goebbels Villa" hinders any new use of another local historical building, which is a massive complex established by German authorities post-war on the same land that houses Joseph Goebbels' home.
This complex, built in the Stalinist style in the early 1950s, housed a training center for the Free German Youth (FDJ). In this communist university, the "Goebbels Villa" was transformed into a student store and a nursery.
In the absence of any buyers or supportive entities, Berlin authorities are considering demolishing the property and redeveloping the land, as annual security and maintenance costs amount to millions, according to German media outlets "Bild" and "RBB." This step necessitates removing the historic landmark designation from the buildings. In 2016, the Berlin real estate fund backed away from selling the "Goebbels Villa," which has become dilapidated, "for fear that it might be acquired by inappropriate parties" or become "a symbolic site for Nazis."
