A house with a dark past is sold on Sylt: Nazi criminals Hermann Göring once spent his vacation here.
Hermann Göring was used to luxury since childhood. The man, who later commanded countless war crimes as the commander-in-chief of the Nazi air force and planned the genocide of European Jews, spent the first years of his life in the house of the wealthy doctor Hermann Epenstein. From 1910 he not only wore the nobility “Knight of” and was the boy’s godfather, but he was also the lover of his mother – and Jew.
Epenstein generously provided the Göring’s residence, such as Veldenstein Castle near Nuremberg and at times its Mauterndorf Castle in Salzburg. The family spent many summer there.
He maintained the decadent lifestyle, which Göring acquired in his childhood, until the end of World War II. Some of his villas have been preserved to this day. One of them now stands for sale: in the middle of the dunes, not a hundred meters from the beach, stands a house that is even something special for Sylt: that is a thatched and with a direct view of the North Sea – in Wenningstedt there is a “real island jewel on the market”, enthuses Sotheby’s real estate house.
The fact that the property once belonged to the Nazi size Göring remains unmentioned in the real estate catalog. Instead, the equipment and renovation of the construction from 1937 are advertised. “All existing details shine in new splendor, while the latest building technology and an exclusive interior have transformed the house into a contemporary holiday home,” says the catalog.
On around 202 square meters of living and usable space, the house today offers a light-flooded dining room with a dune view, an open kitchen with access to the terrace, a fireplace living room, a master bedroom with bad en suite, an additional living or study, two bedrooms with shower rooms on the top floor and a bathroom with a direct sea view.
The village of Wenningstedt lies between Westerland and Kampen and is considered one of the most relaxed corners of Sylts. Typical North Frisian, with thatched roof houses, village pond and old Friesenhöfen.
In the summer of 1937 Hermann Göring, then deputy Hitler, moved into the house that was now for sale. His wife, actress Emmy Göring, commissioned in the 1930s. The Munich architect Otto Heilmann, whose manuscript can still be recognized in the details of the building, provided the design.
After the end of World War II, the property changed the owner several times. Hermann Göring committed suicide in 1946 to avoid the judgment of the International Military Court in Nuremberg. Emmy Göring sold the house in 1958.
First, the Birkenstock dynasty bought the object-for 60,000 marks. According to the local newspaper “SHZ”, filmmaker Philipp Birkenstock said: “Our grandmother and our mother loved it when there are so many emotions in it.” He spent the holidays there for almost 40 years with his siblings.
The Birkenstock heirs kept the property for decades before they only separated from it a few years ago. Already in 2019, the house was briefly available for sale for around twelve million euros. You can only find out how high the current price is “on request,” said the real estate agency Sotheby’s. Experts estimate the price at 15 to 18 million euros.
