On the outside it looks like a charming lakeside villa.
But the haunting truth is that this abandoned house in the woods was once owned by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels – and it’s been up for sale for over two decades.
Adolf Hitler gave the Haus am Bogensee, the only Nazi residence which has not been demolished, as a gift to Goebbels during World War II.
But Berlin authorities are unsure what to do with the rumoured love pad after attempts to sell it have proved unsuccessful while some experts argue that it should be demolished.
The Haus am Bogensee, once owned by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, has been up for sale for over two decades, leaving Berlin authorities unsure what to do with it
Adolf Hitler gave the home, the only Nazi residence which has not been demolished, as a gift to Goebbels during World War II
The 42-acre estate, nine miles north of Berlin, was converted into an East German Communist Party school after the end of World War II
Goebbels (right), pictured with Adolf Hitler (second from right), his wife Magda and his children, used the house as a place to write his virulent anti-Semitic speeches, as well as a place to indulge in several affairs with German actresses
The stunning lakeside villa in the German capital, described as an ‘idyllic solitude’, was completed in 1939.
The 70-room complex, nine miles north of Berlin’s city limits, is where Goebbels retreated to write many of his vociferous anti-Semitic speeches.
It is also where he indulged in a string of affairs with German starlets who were brought in by Goebbels to replace Jewish actresses at the Babelsberg film studio where he produced his propaganda films.
Authorities are determining whether the home – which boasts the remains of an underground bunker, a cinema and an intact elaborate banqueting hall – could either be renovated to look more attractive for would-be buyers, or demolished to make way for something else.
Maintenance costs are around 230,000 EUR (204,700 GBP) every year, according to local media.
The 70-room complex, nine miles north of Berlin’s city limits, costs authorities around 230,000 EUR (204,700 GBP) every year in maintenance costs
Authorities are determining whether the home – which boasts the remains of an underground bunker, a cinema and an intact elaborate banqueting hall – could either be renovated to look more attractive for would-be buyers, or demolished to make way for something else
Goebbels poses, smiling, with his daughter Helga, in a rural setting
BIM Berlin Real Estate Management GmbH (BIM) reportedly wants to renovate the villa to make it more attractive for leasing.
The company plans on spending two million EUR (1.8million GBP) to modernise the complex, update security features, fit external doors and sorted out the leaking roof, according to reports.
However, real estate expert Sven Heinemann of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) suggested the property should be demolished.
He told ‘Bild’ newspaper: ‘The 20-year slumber must be put to an end. Bogensee only has a future without the Goebbels country manor. I am surprised that it was not destroyed after the war.’
The villa and the Free German Youth (FDJ) training grounds are under protection and there is a housing complex nearby.
On 1st May 1945, Joseph Goebbels arranged for SS dentist Helmut Kunz to inject his six children with morphine so that when they were unconscious a cyanide capsule could be crushed in each of their mouths.
At around 8.30pm, Goebbels and wife Magda left the bunker and walked up to the garden of the Chancellery, where they committed suicide.
The 42-acre property and grounds, owned by the city government, has been put up for sale twice since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it was not sold.
The listed building, which has its own large fishing lake, was used as a school for East Germany’s Communist Party youth movement following the war.
The private villa used by Goebbels was converted into a kindergarten after the war ended but since 1990 it has been abandoned
The site’s carpenter in the 1960s, Werner Binder, 76, said the place was heavily guarded at the time, but added: ‘But once inside it was like being in a holiday camp.’
Goebbels and his family lived in the house in the latter stages of the war, after Hitler had put an end to the propaganda minister’s affairs, so they could be closer to him.
Goebbels felt the estate was a safe place for them as it was outside of the main city, and boasted an underground bunker – which partially remains.
The house also had a cinema and a fully intact banqueting hall.
The elaborate hall still has the oak-panelled ceiling, French windows and open fireplace that were installed before Goebbels moved in at the start of the war.
The estate is home to a large fishing lake. Goebbels described the tranquil area as a place of ‘idyllic solitude’
The 42-acre property and grounds, owned by the city government, has been put up for sale twice since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it was not sold