Wegner: Development of the Bodensee-Area for Berlin too expensive

Former Goebbels Villa - Wegner: Development of the Bodensee-Area for Berlin too expensive

The exploration of the area around the Bogensee with the former Villa of NS-Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in Berlin would be too big of a project for the city, according to the Governing Mayor Kai Wegner. He made this statement during the "Kai Wegner vor Ort" dialogue in Prenzlauer Berg. "The development of the entire area would cost 300 million Euro. That is an amount that we definitely cannot afford from the state budget. That is completely out of the question." The area in the Brandenburg district of Wandlitz belongs to the city of Berlin.

The Landkreis Barnim and the community are advocating for a new use of the historical site, such as a place to promote democracy. Initially, a study will be conducted to show the prospects. Local politicians are optimistic that they will also receive federal ministry funding.

A submitted project outline has already been positively evaluated, it was stated. In the next round, an application for federal funds must be submitted by the end of the year. The district administration spokesperson also reported that several interested parties have contacted the county for the area.

Landrat: A place for confronting dark past important

"Given the current development, in which democratic enemies are increasingly crossing borders, it is in my opinion urgently necessary to preserve places that allow critical reflection with the dark chapters of German history," Landrat Daniel Kurth (SPD) had said a week ago. The city of Berlin has always been reticent.

Wegner: We cannot do anything there

Wegner referred to the offer from Berlin's Finance Senator Stefan Evers from early May to give away the area if necessary. Wegner said that the federal government or the state of Brandenburg could engage instead. "As the city of Berlin, we cannot do anything there due to our budget situation. We must prioritize other things."

The approximately 17-hectare site, on which Goebbels built his country house, has been unused and deteriorating since 2000. After the end of the Nazi dictatorship, the Allies briefly used the site as a hospital. In 1946, the Soviets then transferred the property to the Free German Youth (FDJ), who established a youth university there. Berlin considered demolishing the buildings and re-naturalizing the land - just to save on security and maintenance costs.

In the view of the Mayor of Wandlitz, Oliver Borchert (Free Citizens' Community Wandlitz), the Bogensee area is a unique site nationally and internationally. "There are hardly any other places where the possibilities for remembering the NS dictatorship and the unjust regime of the GDR are so closely intertwined." The statements of the Berlin Finance Senator about giving away the land were criticized as inappropriate and damaging by Borchert.

1. Despite the advocacy for a new use of Joseph Goebbels' former villa in Wandlitz by the Landkreis Barnim and local politicians, Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner dismissed the idea due to financial constraints.
2. The development of the area around the Bogensee, including Goebbels' villa in the Berlin Municipality of Wandlitz, would require an extensive budget of 300 million Euro, which is beyond Berlin's capability.
3. In a bid to promote democracy, the Landkreis Barnim is planning to conduct a study to evaluate the prospects of utilizing Goebbels' villa as a site for critical reflection of German history's dark chapters.
4. Local politicians are optimistic about securing federal ministry funding for this project, which has already received a positive evaluation in its initial stage.
5. Kai Wegner suggested that the federal government or the state of Brandenburg could take up the project instead of Berlin, given the city's budget constraints and the need to prioritize other issues.
6. The approximately 17-hectare site, once used by Joseph Goebbels as a country house, has been abandoned since 2000, with plans from Berlin officials to demolish the buildings and revert the land to its natural state to cut costs.
7. Oliver Borchert, the Mayor of Wandlitz from the Free Citizens' Community Wandlitz, strongly criticized the proposal by Berlin's Finance Senator to give away the land, emphasizing the site's unique significance in confronting the dark past of both the Nazi dictatorship and the unjust regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

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