Investors are rushing in to buy as many units as possible in a very famous Hitler-era holiday camp. Sales representatives have reported facing a huge influx of work after rich investors weigh in on buying these apartments, almost 70 per cent of which are already sold. Buyers can choose from a variety of apartment sizes, starting from one bedroom and going up to five bedrooms; they can also select among options for a sea view, a terrace, a balcony and a garden layout.
Some of the buyers include famous writers and artists from around the world. Christa Moog, who is a writer based in Berlin, paid around half a million dollars for an apartment at the camp. She said that she was glad to see such a historical relic put to good use, instead of being left as a collection of old, damp buildings. (News.com.au)
The buildings now have a new lease of life. They were first built by one of Hitler’s most trusted top officials, Robert Ley, in 1936. Initially they was built as a holiday camp but as Second World War broke out, the project was abandoned. German officials had much bigger things to worry about than to build holiday camps. Since then, the buildings have been standing there as a symbol of the Nazi era.
Historians suggest that, although focus has always been on the Nazi association with this camp, one overlooked side of it is its post-war history, when it was home to 10,000 soldiers in East Germany. During this period, it became a place of suffering place for ‘Bausoldaten’. These were 500 East German conscripts who had refused to participate actively in the military; they were put here to do forced building work, since they were considered enemies of the state. The ‘building soldiers’, as they were called, suffered a great deal during their stay in these buildings.
The ‘Prora’ as it is famously known as, is now a tourist resort on Ruegen Island, Germany. It was built by the Nazis from 1936 to 1939, and the building project was called ‘Kraft durch Freude’, meaning ‘Strength through Joy’. Prora is a set of eight buildings, primarily built as a tourist resort for Nazi officials and elite. In 1939, the construction was stopped as Germany launched a much more ambitious ‘plan’ in Europe.
For the most part of the last half-century, Prora was left untouched as one of many historical relics from the Nazi era. It came under government control in early 1990s, but no work was done on the blocks. In 2004, developers started showing interest in Prora, and some blocks were sold to residential developers. Since then, a significant number of developers have shown interest, and made plans for this relic. Developers are capitalizing on the so-called ‘historical side’ of these buildings, to lure potential buyers.