The large villa and 170-acre estate is located four miles north of Berlin. The villa was named after the nearby Lake Bogensee and was built in 1936.
Joseph Goebbels was given the position of Minister of Information and Propaganda when the Nazis seized power in Germany in 1933.
He is considered the strategist behind the Third Reich's self-portrayal, and is said to have coined the phrase “If a lie is repeated often enough, it eventually becomes the truth.”
Goebbels used Villa Bugensee as a kind of refuge from life in the capital, Berlin.
He spent a lot of time there with his wife, Magda, and six children. But it is also said to have been the place where the Propaganda Minister met his mistresses.
Hitler's heir
For many years, Goebbels was one of Adolf Hitler's most trusted men, and the person Hitler appointed to take over as Chancellor when the leader chose to commit suicide on April 30, 1945.
But Goebbels, who was among the most fanatical and stubborn National Socialists, refused to surrender on the day of his rule and chose the same method followed by Hitler.
He and his wife Magda committed suicide on May 1, 1945. The couple also chose to take their six children with them in death.
The property is in very poor condition and the authorities in Berlin are tired of paying for security and maintenance.
Photograph: John McDougall/AFP
Unwanted country house
After the war, the Allies used the country house for a short time as a military hospital.
It then became a popular secondary school for young people, after the leadership of the Soviet occupation forces in 1946 gave ownership to the Den Freie organization for German youth.
Since 2000, the villa has been empty, and the decay is widespread. The cost of renovating the building and grounds is estimated at millions of euros.
The state authorities in Berlin have forcibly relinquished ownership of the property.
Over the years, they tried to transfer ownership to the German federal state, the state of Brandenburg, and the municipality of Wandlitz, where the villa is located, but to no avail.
No one wants to own Villa Bogense.
It comes with 170 acres of gardens and woodland as well as a large house located just over 4 miles north of Berlin.
Photograph: Patrick Pleul/AP
Guard duty
However, the villa is an attraction. People make daily trips to the overgrown estate, entering through the garden and looking through the windows.
The Berlin state government says it can no longer bear the millions in security and maintenance costs. They are now seriously considering demolishing the villa.
“I will give it to anyone who wants to take over the place, as a gift from the state of Berlin,” Berlin Finance Minister Stefan Evers said on Thursday.
– If we fail again, as we did in past decades, Berlin will have no other choice but to carry out the demolition operation we have already prepared, the German news agency (DPA) and RTL radio reported.
The Finance Minister said nothing about whether the state might consider giving the villa to private stakeholders.
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published
05.05.2024 at 15.15
Updated
05.05.2024 at 15.37
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