By ELISABETH RIBBANS
MUNICH - A forgotten outpost of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich has been thrust into the spotlight following a controversial recommendation for the building to be listed as an historic monument.
The Nazi chancellery's former branch office at Bischofswiesen, a picturesque Alpine district in the southeast corner of Germany, was built in the style of a Bavarian farmhouse in 1937 and served as an administration centre throughout the Second World War.
During Hitler's stays at his Berghof country retreat in Berchtesgaden - just a few miles away - the business of the fascist regime was conducted through this local office. Visits by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to Berchtesgaden would also have been organised by the Bischofswiesen staff.
After the war, the building - which survived unscathed - was taken over by the United States army, who used it until 1996 as a centre for organising recreational facilities.
Germany's property administration has been hoping to sell the empty building - whose shuttered windows overlook a stunning landscape - to the highest bidder.
A spa hotel was considered a likely use.Now the expert Monuments Committee has stymied plans by recommending to the Bavarian Government that the Nazi property receive protected status for its "historic significance." Although the building could still be sold, limits on alterations would greatly reduce its appeal.
Peter Ramsauer, the local CSU (Conservative) member of the national parliament, said listing the building was "the crackpot idea of the year."
A party newsletter said people did not want "a monument to remind them of the dreadful past."
There are many Nazi-era buildings on the protection list, but most, including the Olympic Stadium in Berlin and the Haus der Kunst art gallery in Munich, typify the Third Reich's neo-classical style.
The Berghof was destroyed by American troops in 1951 to prevent it becoming a focal point for Nazi sympathisers. Recently, work began on tearing down Hitler's nearby Platterhof hotel to make way for a car park.
"Young people have a right to be given an objective view of historical places - only then can they learn properly about the past," said Peter Karger, spokesman for a local action group that wants the Bischofswiesen building to be protected and to remain in government ownership. He said the Americans had been "model stewards" in maintaining the authentic interior design, and hoped the original furniture, which has been in storage for decades, would be returned.
Mr Karger felt claims by some locals, that highlighting the building would attract neo-Nazis, were spurious.
"There was never any such problem with the Platterhof, and we're appalled that even now it is being demolished, despite an earlier protection order.
This time, the past - however awful - must be allowed to stand."
The Bavarian Government is expected to make a decision on listing the outpost within the next few weeks.
Nazi outpost plans draw fire
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.