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Berlin struggles to sell former Goebbels villa

After two failed attempts, Berlin is trying again to sell the sprawling estate and villa once known as Joseph Goebbels' illicit love nest, but so far, nobody's buying.

Berlin struggles to sell former Goebbels villa
The Haus am Bogensee. Photo: DPA

The address of the former villa of Hitler's propaganda minister is as misleading as it is revealing.

Number One, Friendship Place, northeast of Berlin, is thought to have been where Joseph Goebbels produced some of his most virulent speeches against Jews. But it's also where Goebbels wooed the starlets of the Berlin's Babelsberg film studios.

Known as Bogensee for the property's small lake, it was built as a getaway for Goebbels northeast of the German capital, far from the retreat southwest of the city on an island in the Wannsee where he would stay with his wife and six children.

After World War II the site, near the town of Wandlitz, became home to a high school for the socialist Free German Youth (FDJ) where a young Erich Honecker studied.

The FDJ was the youth wing of the German socialist party, SED, that controlled East Germany and would eventually be led by Honecker.

But for the last 15 years the massive property has been abandoned.

Sprawled across nearly 17 hectares of mainly forested land, the original complex boasts 70 rooms in the main building called Haus am Bogensee, guest houses and a farmhouse by the lake. Later, the estate's Soviet-era school buildings added large halls, lecture theatres and residences.

The grounds are overgrown and the greying buildings show signs of neglect, though a minimum of maintenance has been done, costing the city €150,000 a year.

The Berlin Property Fund, the agency in charge of the property, tried to sell it in 2006 and 2008, but shut down bidding process on both occasions due to lack of demand.

Marlies Masche, spokesperson for the fund, says this time they have several interested parties. But to avoid interfering with the competitive process, she says, Masche did not reveal how many bidders are involved, nor the asking price.

Berlin-based real estate appraiser Günter Lehmann says the property is highly valuable, but difficult to assess without a full, on-site evaluation. He valued the land alone at roughly €15 million euros.

Until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the complex had been in continual use by the FDJ, and became home to an international social work organization after November 1989, but it left the property a decade later.

Back in the time of the Third Reich, Goebbels was known to seduce women and bring them to the estate to fulfill his sexual appetites.

His conquering manner toward women is thought to have been one way the Nazi compensated for the inadequacy he felt as an Aryan specimen, according to British historian Sir Richard Evans.

Goebbels stood a mere 5 ft. 5 in. with brown hair and brown eyes, slowed down by a club foot he was left with after an operation failed to cure a childhood infection.

One notable escapade played out on the grounds of Bogensee brought Goebbels into conflict with Adolf Hitler himself.

Goebbels' affair with the Czech film star Lida Baavora became public and prompted his wife, Magda, to consider divorce. When Hitler found out about Goebbels' lewd behaviour, he ordered an end to the affair.

The Goebbels connection may have made the property difficult to sell over the years. The infamous propaganda minister's name is noticeably absent from the document intended to pitch the estate to potential buyers.

Berlin also wants to make sure the property doesn't end up in the wrong hands, particularly those of neo-Nazis who could turn it into a gathering point for the extremists or a shrine to the former propaganda minister.

That means background checks for anyone who submits a bid for the property.

The city also intends to make sure the idyllic woodland surroundings are protected and that they approve of any plans for the property. Suggested uses include: hotel, medical clinic, boarding school and retirement home.

The building interiors are in good condition and taken alone could be an attractive investment, but for the Berlin Property Fund, the overall site's dark history may prove too much to overcome.

"We want a total use of the site," says Masche. "The Goebbels villa is very difficult to separate from the rest."

"There is no deadline for a decision on the bidding process," admits Masche.

Stuck in the shadow of Goebbels' lurid villa, Berlin may have to continue bearing the costs of its history.

Tomas Urbina is currently an Arthur F. Burns Fellow with The Local Germany.

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PROPERTY

Who can apply for Germany’s new renewable heating grants for homes?

According to Germany’s new heating law, many newly installed heating systems need to be powered primarily with renewable energy - but there are also hefty state subsidies on offer for eco-friendly heaters.

Who can apply for Germany's new renewable heating grants for homes?

Homeowners who want to switch to more climate-friendly heating systems have been able to submit applications to the KfW development bank since Tuesday morning.

According to reports in DPA, the online application portal was overloaded shortly after opening as a number of homeowners attempted to secure funding for a new heat pump or other renewable heating system. 

“In front of you in the waiting room are 529 people. The waiting room has been closed,” a notification on the website stated shortly before 8am. 

However, access to the portal later resumed as normal. 

Who is eligible to apply for a new heating system?

According to KfW, the application process for heating subsidies will be staggered, with applications opening to various groups over the course of 2024.

For now, applications are open to private individuals who own their own single-family homes. Most crucially, homeowners must live in their property to apply for funding at this stage. 

Applications will open to broader groups of homeowners in the coming months, but owning a home or apartment building is a requirement for this funding. Tenants don’t really have a say in the matter, beyond perhaps suggesting it to their landlords.

From May 2024, owners of existing apartment buildings with more than one residential unit, or Home Owners’ Associations (WEG) that collectively represent the owners of flats in an apartment block, will also be able to apply.

Flats in Cologne

Newly built apartments in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Rolf Vennenbernd

Finally, from August 2024 owners of buy-to-let homes and apartments will also be able to apply.

If you want to get started now, though, there’s no need to wait: if homeowners exchange their heating systems immediately, they can still apply for funding until November 30th, 2024. According to the latest government information, eligible projects must have started between December 29th, 2023 and August 31st, 2024.

Why is Germany subsidising personal home heating systems?

The new subsidies are provided as part of the heating law of the traffic light coalition, which came into effect from January 1st of this year. 

According to the new heating law, it is mandatory for new buildings in new development areas to have heating that is powered at least 65 percent by renewable energies. 

In many cases, this requires installing a heat pump. But compared with gas-powered heaters, installing a heat pump can be expensive. So these subsidies are aimed at helping homeowners afford energy saving heating systems.

READ ALSO: What homeowners in Germany need to know about the new heating bill

Some homeowners can apply for up to 70 percent of eligible costs. The basic subsidy covers 30 percent of installation costs for heating systems that are considered climate-friendly, such as heat pumps. 

Additionally, further bonuses can be paid to homeowners who live in their own home (rather than renting it out), and if their income falls below a certain salary limit. A contract with a specialised company is also required to be eligible for subsidies.

The contentious green heating law

There had been a bitter dispute over the heating law for months, with the Greens and environmental groups largely backing the law while FDP and more conservative parties rallied against it.

With the reform for more climate protection, the German government wanted to advance the heat transition in the building sector and protect consumers from price jumps for oil and gas if CO2 prices rise in the coming years.

According to Clean Energy Wire (CLEW), as of 2020, half of all German homes were heated by gas, making household heating a sector with huge potential for cutting CO2 emissions.

But opponents to the heating law claim it unfairly forces homeowners to make costly investments in eco-friendly sytems.

READ ALSO: ‘Heating hammer’ – Germany huffs and puffs over climate law

In October 2023, led by Bavaria’s state premier Markus Söder, thousands of people reportedly gathered in the Bavarian town of Erding to protest “heating ideology.”

The new heating law even made an appearance at the year’s Rose Monday parades – in Mainz Economy Minister Robert Habeck was seen flying away, metaphorically losing his grip on the ground with his heating law.

Rose Monday parade float

German Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck was seen being blown away by a heat pump during the Rose Monday carnival procession in Mainz, on February 12, 2024. Photo: by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

In fact, debate over the heating law may have inadvertently sparked record sales of fossil fuel powered heating systems in the short term, since an earlier draft specified that broken heating systems would have to be exchanged for renewable alternatives. According to Der Spiegel, more oil and gas heating systems were sold in 2023 than any previous year.

As a general rule, functioning heaters can continue to be operated regardless of their energy use. Additionally, old heaters that break down can still be repaired.

READ ALSO: Can a green energy transition plan help revitalise the German economy?

Only heating systems installed after January 1st of this year are subject to the new requirements.

For more information on heating subsidies, or the application process see KfW’s website.

With reporting by dpa.

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