A controversy is raging about the opening of a
monumental building as a holiday resort in Prora in the German island
of Ruegen. The issues of the controversy are several. Located on the
biggest island of Germany in the Baltic Sea, the colossal complex of
the hotel was designed to shelter 20,000 tourists and travelers.
The construction of the giant holiday resort was started in 1936 but was soon abandoned due to the war. The five-six storey buildings on the sandy surface of Ruegen’s beautiful beach remained incomplete and closed all these years. Now, the local government has taken a step in collaborating with an investor group to set the decaying complex on its feet and bring it alive as a modern day holiday resort.
The decision of the government to endow the complex with a makeover has inflamed the embers of controversy among political and social critics. Political critics have hauled the government for handing over the property to private investors. Juergen Rostock who holds the post of chairperson of New Culture has made a scathing attack on the government’s project to convert a historic site into a hub of recreation and revelry.
The beachfront complex of six-storey blocks has stood intact for seventy years in Prora - the Baltic island of Rugen. The eight blocks are identical in structure. It was originally, constructed as a Nazi holiday camp to provide morale-strengthening breaks to the refreshment of German workers and soldiers. The Nazis wanted their soldiers and workers to be on their mettle with nerves of steel.
The government wants its plan for the renovation of the resort to materialize on a huge scale. The grand building was constructed to accommodate 20,000 Germans together in 10,000 rooms that are alike under its colossal roof with mesmeric views of the sea. The original Nazi plan had an enormous plaza hall with a capacity for 20,000 to seat at a time and dining halls with 1,000 seats.
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