Photo from hihostels.com
Usually when I write about unusual hostels I’m telling you to spend a night in a castle, a former jail, a treehouse or something whimsical and fun.
But how would you like to stay in a former Nazi resort?
Youth Hostel Prora just opened in Germany this week, but the buildings were originally built in the 1930s by the Nazis.
According to Reuters, “As part of the Nazi’s Strength through Joy program, the resort’s aim was to prepare up to 20,000 citizens for war through organized leisure.”
It never got used for that purpose, although parts of it did house refugees fleeing the Soviets in 1944-1945 as well as some men who refused to join the army in East Germany.
I like to see buildings get reused rather than torn down and have all those resources wasted, but that’s also a lot of weighty history staying the your room with you. Then again, the view of the Baltic is lovely.
So what do you think? Would you stay there?
I’d stay there if it were done properly: if the spirit of the project were to reclaim Germany’s history from the shadow of the Nazis, and to rehabilitate and take back, to transform something awful into something hopeful and healthy, then yes. If it were turned into some kind of weird Nazi museum or memorial, then no.
Agreed. If done properly it could be very cool. -Lisa