Kehlsteinhaus fire revives debate over Nazi-era architecture

The fire that destroyed the Kehlsteinhaus on the Obersalzberg has renewed debate over how to deal with Nazi-era buildings, BR reports. The 1938 building, once used by Adolf Hitler as a tea house, burned down to its foundations. A 33-year-old man is suspected of starting the fire; no motive has been disclosed, and he has been placed in a psychiatric institution.

Discussions are under way about whether to leave the ruins, demolish them, rebuild the structure as it was or construct something new. Experience with other Nazi-era buildings in Bavaria offers different approaches.

Nuremberg theatre moves into Congress Hall

In the 2028-29 season, the Nuremberg State Theatre plans to move from its historic, renovation-needing opera house into a temporary venue on the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds. Construction has been under way for two years inside the unfinished shell of Hitler’s huge Congress Hall. The foyer and cloakroom will occupy the existing structure, while the stage and auditorium are being built beside it in the courtyard.

Julia Lehner, Nuremberg’s former cultural mayor, said the project was not intended to obscure the building’s history. She said the architecture would remain part of the experience for performers and visitors, and that confronting this history was deliberate.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen stadium renovation exposed Nazi-era fabric

The ski stadium in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, built by the Nazis for the 1936 Winter Olympics and later expanded into a monumental horseshoe shape, was renovated between 2019 and 2021. The listed sports venue hosts the New Year’s ski jumping event, watched by millions on television and thousands in the stands.

Architect Benedikt Sunder-Plassmann said the renovation first required identifying the building’s original features and distinguishing them from additions made in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The architects considered postwar Lüftlmalerei, traditional Bavarian-style wall painting, and later wooden doors in an Alpine folk style to have softened the appearance of the Nazi building. Both were removed to bring the traces of the Nazi period back into view.

Architect suggests a new building at the Obersalzberg

Sunder-Plassmann said a new restaurant could be built at the Obersalzberg, with information panels explaining what had stood there. He said he would find it wrong to reconstruct the Kehlsteinhaus in its historic form using modern methods.

Lehner said she did not want to offer advice on the Kehlsteinhaus from a distance. She said history could not be overcome by allowing buildings to decay, adding that the stones had to be made to speak.

Bavarian Arts Minister Markus Blume said any reconstruction of the burned Kehlsteinhaus should not be paid for with public money. He said the building had fire insurance.