German Government To Auction Off Nazi Holiday Camp

[matcom]

<snip>

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government will try next month to auction off part of a 10,000 room hotel complex built by the Nazis as a holiday resort for soldiers and workers.

Adolf Hitler commissioned the holiday camp at Prora on the Baltic island of Ruegen in the 1930s as part of the Nazis' "Kraft durch Freude" ("Strength Through Joy") program to create a healthy, strong nation capable of conquering the world.

The outbreak of World War II meant the building was never opened as a hotel. The eight austere concrete blocks, resembling a government ministry, were used as a shelter for bombed-out refugees during the war, and as a barracks afterwards.

"The government is selling Prora off as part of a large-scale national campaign to release capital," said Martin Kehr of auction house Norddeutsche Grundstuecksauktionen AG.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=573&e=1&u=/nm/20040826/od_nm/germany_nazi_hotel_dc