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Axel Stelter, Arch 170B

An Examination of the Sea Resort Prora

Germany′s biggest island Rügen offers beautiful landscapes with endless beaches and

forests. Just north of Binz, a small resort town at the sea, the island narrows because of the

dimensions of Jasmund Bay. Here, there used to be a long, isolated beach adjacent to a forest,

which covered the area between the bay and the beach.

Nowadays, if you take a drive through the forest in order to find the beach, you will be

surprised. Out of nowhere the forest darkens and a huge concrete wall arises and blocks your

view as far as you can see. (Appendix 1)

The "KdF Seebad der Zwanzigtausend", or the "KdF sea resort of twenty thousand", is

located north of the town Binz on the island of Rügen. Based on Adolf Hitler′s idea, this sea

resort building was built from May 1936 until the construction stopped at the beginning of the

Second World War in 1939. The architect was Clemens Klotz.

After the 2nd World War, Russian and East German troops were stationed in the

remains of this building and practiced tank maneuvers in the woods. But also the time of the

Cold War went by and the troops moved out and left an empty building. Currently this building

is part ruin and part money pit for the adjacent counties. A small youth hostel and a little,

unimpressive museum about Nazi Prora are the only proof of life and occupy about 3 percent of

the space of the original construction.

Prora can be seen as a monument now, a monument which demonstrates the

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definitions of National Socialist architecture, its unique characteristics and contradictions. It

embodies the ideology of Nazi Germany from 1933 1945 in various themes.

In order to be more specific, it is essential to briefly observe Nazi architecture in its

historical context, followed by a critical observation of the site of the Prora sea resort.

Aspects of Nazi Architecture

Prora is a perfect example of architecture during the time of the Third Reich. It

embodies many properties which are commonly considered Nazi Architecture. These details

will be explained later, but beforehand it is important to understand Architecture in the context

of National Socialism. Although some architectural historians clearly define the architecture of

the third Reich, it physically cannot be seen as a separate style.

With the intention of describing and hence finding a definition for the architecture of

the Third Reich, its origin has to be put in a historical context. The term of the

Third Reich

Architecture

came up in the years between 1933 and 1945 but drew its content from earlier

times. During the time after the First World War, the foundations for the architectural thinking

of the national socialists were laid out. The national socialists adopted two styles (actually

more, but two are sufficient in the context of this paper), from the Weimar Republic and

adapted them: the style of the neo classicism and modern architecture.1

1 See Page 1 15 and following: Taylor, R.,

The Word in Stone

, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles,

London, 1974

3

Thus, architecture in the Third Reich was determined by previous existing periods and

their development. The special separation of the stylistic and structural elements could be

determined by the purpose of the building: political functions shaped the structural, physical

and decorative appearance of the final project. This is one of the reasons why the era of Nazi

architecture does not reflect a unified picture.

"Public buildings must be large and impressive and must imply that the life of the people as a whole was superior

to individual lives"2

For example, one of the Nazis′ most distinctive styles of propaganda was neo classicism.

In these buildings, representative politics and architecture were visually connected. It was less

the antique architecture or its revival in the classicism, but much more an opportunity to use a

larger scale of this style monumentally. These buildings were supposed to impose a material

impression which made the visitor feel small.3

On the other hand, some new housing or community facilities were planned to be less

monumental and more modern. Here, the National Socialists implemented the modern

architecture of the Weimar Republic. The Nazis also considered this kind of architecture to be a

(politically) important instrument and therefore allowed modern conceptions of space and

material to show their predominance.

As shown, Nazi architecture is defined by several styles, each of which was used when

needed. The mixture of Nazi architecture is more complex, but for the purpose of exploring

2 Page 32, Scobie, A.,

Hitler′s State Architecture

, Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and London,

1990

3 See Teut, A.,

Architektur im Dritten Reich,

Ullstein, Berlin, Frankfurt, Wien, 1967

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Prora, the previous ones are sufficient.

The Scale Issue of "The Colossus"

"...The Nazis employed architecture of colossal dimensions to overawe and intimidate..."4

Using the opportunity to describe the KdF Seebad building, the point of how Prora′s

dimensions are out of scale can be made simultaneously. The words and numbers will speak for

themselves and shall show why Prora′s architecture uniquely represents Third Reich

architecture in the aspect of size and dimensions.

The native islanders unofficially named Klotz′s building "Der Koloss von Rügen", which

means as much as the "colossus" or "giant" of Rügen. Indeed, this building is one of the biggest

complexes in Europe.

The idea for the dimensions of this building was based on the requirements for the

design competition: Room for 20,000 vacationers, 2,000 employers and technical installations

had to be created. Klotz′s first design from 1935 underwent many modifications before its

finalization in 1936.5

The building extends about 4.5 kilometers in a circular arc parallel to the coast in a 13

kilometer radius. Six story accommodation buildings form the main front elevation in four two

kilometer fragments north and south of the center fairground. A 40 by 100 meter swimming

pool is positioned in the center of each fragment, facing westward. Each of these wings is

4 Page 133, Taylor, R.,

The Word in Stone

, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1974

5 Page 49, Rostock, Zadnicek

Paradiesruinen ­ Das KdF Seebad der Zwanzigtausend,

Links Verlag, Berlin, 1992