Schwanenwerder
Schwanenwerder(German pronunciation:[ˌʃvaːnənˈvɛʁdɐ];English: "SwanAit") is an island in the locality ofNikolasseein southwesternBerlin,located in a wider stretch of theHavelclose to the eastern bank and adjacent to theGroßer Wannseeto the south of it. The neighbourhood is considered an affluent residential area and was home to known people such asAlexander Parvus,Joseph Goebbels,Gustav Fröhlich,Ernst Udet,andAxel Springer.
History
[edit]The river island, with an area of about 62 acres (25 ha), was first mentioned asDer Sandtwerder( "Sand Ait" ) in 1704. Also calledCladower Sandwerderafter the opposite village ofKladow,the island in the mid 19th century was a deserted place, overgrown with shrubs and a few trees. In 1882, the island was purchased by Wilhelm Wessel, a wealthy inventor and manufacturer ofkerosene lamps,for a sum of 9,000Marks.He ordered extensive landscaping, built an access ringroad, subdivided the area and offered the lots for sale. The intention was for wealthy buyers like himself to build cottages with access to the river. He himself had a mansion, calledVilla Schwanenhof(Swan Court), erected in the centre of the isle. Its continued existence makes it the oldest building on the island. For convenient access, a small bridge was built which up to today remains the only way onto the island.
In 1896, a charter was drafted that banned inhabitants from setting up disturbing venues like factories and shops. Even a pier for river steamers was prohibited. In 1901, EmperorWilhelm IIgranted the official use of the nameSchwanenwerder,a more illustrious name than the old "Sand Ait". By then, only three villas had been erected, nevertheless the mansion colony quickly developed as a refuge of the wealthy Berlin bourgeoisie, among themBerthold IsraelandRudolph Karstadt,both owners of large department stores, the entrepreneurLeo Maximilian Baginski,the entrepreneurWaldemar Lohse,the entrepreneurHans Quilitz,the entrepreneurWalter Sobernheim,the physicianFedor Krause,the bankerOscar Schlitter,the bankerOscar Wassermann,the bankerEduard Mosler,the bankerArthur Salomonsohnand the bankerGeorg Solmssen.[1]Schwanenwerder was the most expensive property to purchase in the interwar German version of theMonopolygame.
AfterWorld War Imore rich inhabitants built villas on Schwanenewerder, among them were the bankerSamuel Goldschmidt,the economistWerner Feilchenfeld,the entrepreneurAlfred Guggenheim,the judgeHerbert Gidionand the publisherLeo Goldstaub.[2]
After theNazi seizure of powerin January 1933, many of theJewishproperty owners were driven off or forced to sell their real estate because of theracial policy of Nazi Germany.After theelections of March 1933,SAofficers from nearbyZehlendorfswarmed over the island, and a Nazi flag was hoisted prominently over the water tower.[3]Among those who profited from these events were MinisterJoseph Goebbels,who in 1935 bought the villa formerly owned by the Oscar Schlitter for a very modest sum,[4]Three years later, he also purchased the "aryanized"neighbouring property of the Jewish bankerSamuel Goldschmidt.In a similar manner Hitler's personal physicianTheodor Morellacquired the premises ofGeorg Solmssen(the uncle of authorArthur R.G. Solmssen). MinisterAlbert Speerbought the property of one of the Baronesses Goldschmidt-Rothschildfor only 150,000 marks, only to sell it in 1943 at a hefty premium to theDeutsche Reichsbahn.In 1937, Reich Women's LeaderGertrud Scholtz-Klinkhad aSSBride Schoolestablished on Schwanenwerder, where young women were indoctrinated in Nazi ideology and educated in housekeeping skills.
After World War II, disseized properties were returned to their rightful owners, if those could be found, but none of them returned. The buildings stood empty and derelict and property was sold, mostly to the community of Berlin, which at times owned up to 40% of the land. Since the late 1940s the island housed a large summer camp for children, which was closed in 2002. Until 2010 a station of the BerlinWasserschutzpolizeiwas located near the Schwanenwerder bridge. The neighbouring premises formerly owned by Goebbels were leased to the BerlinAspen Institutefor several years.
Over the second half of the 20th century, most old mansions were torn down to be replaced with new private buildings.[5]Remnants of the historic land development include a column of the demolishedTuileriesin Paris, which was bought by Wessel in 1882 and placed on Schwanenwerder as part of amock ruin,typical of the spirit ofRomanticismin late 19th-century Germany. It is still on the island and protected as a historic monument.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Gedenktafeln in Berlin.de: Bewohner
- ^Gedenktafeln in Berlin.de: Bewohner
- ^Fabrice d'Almeida,Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany,Oxford, 2006:details noted in Christopher Clark, on-line review
- ^Fabrice d'Almeida,Royals and the Reich: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany,Oxford, 2006:details noted in Christopher Clark, on-line review
- ^(in German)Villenkolonie Schwanenwerder (ghwk.de)Archived2010-04-13 at theWayback Machine
- ^Säule des Tuilerienschlosses
External links
[edit]
Media related toSchwanenwerderat Wikimedia Commons
52°26′51.5″N13°10′6.56″E/ 52.447639°N 13.1684889°E
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