Part of a 4.5 km-long German hotel complex built by the Nazis as a holiday camp has been sold at auction for €625,000 ($750,000). The concrete beachfront resort in the town of Prora, on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, was commissioned by Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. It was destined to be used by soldiers and workers, but the outbreak of World War II meant it never opened as a hotel. The lot sold at auction included a section of the hotel, and woodland.
The starting price for the lot was €125,00 ($150,000). The auction house has not released information on the buyer, who bid by telephone. Made up of eight austere concrete blocks and capable of accommodating 20,000 people, the complex was one of the world's first mass tourism resorts. It was built as part of the Nazis' "Strength Through Joy" ("Kraft durch Freude") leisure program, which aimed to build loyalty to the party among the working class. While the complex now is classified as a historical monument and protected by law, no buyer could be found for the whole complex. Further sections of the resort are due to be sold next year.