Nazi Luxury Hotel Claim Fact-Checked

The so-called "Nuremberg Laws"— a crucial step in Nazi racial laws that led to the marginalization of German Jews and ultimately to their segregation, confinement, and extermination—were key pieces of evidence in the trials, which resulted ...

Blocks of six-story buildings stretching for 4.5km went up before war slowed construction, leaving an unfinished hulk that was later retrofitted into training grounds and housing for East German soldiers. But a group of investors in this seaside town is now doing what the Nazis never could: realising the site’s final stage of transformation into a vacation wonderland. Large parts of the complex are being gutted and rebuilt into developments, including one called New Prora that will house luxury beachfront condominiums – half of which have been sold – as well as an upscale hotel and spa.

Often they were given new homes where Jewish families had lived, as the Jewish citizens were moved to ever more cramped accommodation, and later to ghettos and then concentration camps. So it was that Germania had a crucial role to play in enabling Nazi authorities to carry out the Holocaust, its plans leading to Jews being driven from their homes even before the pogroms of November 1938.

"I hear from Party members who came from the Government-General that various agencies, as, for instance, the Military Economic Staff, the Reich Ministry for Labor, etc., intend to reconstruct certain industrial enterprises in Warsaw. However, in accordance with a decision by Minister Dr. Frank, as approved by the Fuehrer, Warsaw shall not be rebuilt nor is it the intention of the Fuehrer to rebuild or reconstruct any industry in the Government-General." (EC-411)

At the county and state level, some archives yielded documents relevant to the respective camp complexes, particularly providing information on the post-war period. Archival holdings on post-war dismantling processes and restitution matters regarding land plots employed for the 'Unternehmen Wüste' (a project of the Nazi shale oil industry associated with seven Natzweiler camps, see Glauning 2006; Opfermann 2000; Zekorn 2019) can be found in the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg, in particular the branches based in Stuttgart and Sigmaringen, since the State of Baden-Württemberg played an important administrative role in these procedures.

As Germany’s absolute ruler, or führer, Hitler reintroduced conscription, or mandatory military service; rebuilt the country’s armed forces; ordered the genocide of millions; and invaded countries across Europe.

The building served as the headquarters of the American Section during the immediate postwar period. The building still stands and is occupied by the Munich Financing Office for the state of Bavaria. The second floor, Hitler's former apartment, houses the headquarters of the regional police of Munich and is not open to the public. Führer Headquarters – Administrative centers used by Nazi leaders throughout World War II

The day before he died, the Hitler cabinet passed the Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich, the final major part in the Nazification process called Gleichschaltung ("coordination"). It transferred the president's powers upon his death, including as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to the new post of "Führer and Reich Chancellor", giving Hitler complete power over the entire Reich without any possibility of checks and balances. The action was later ratified by a highly non-democratic referendum which shed the last remains of the Weimar Republic.

While the Germans later rebuilt parts of the plant, it remained the target of Allied bombings and never returned to its full operational capacity.