Carinhall

Hermann Goering’s luxurious residence was located in the scenic Schorfheide on a promontory between the lakes Grosser Döllnsee and Wuckersee, about sixty kilometres north of Berlin. The first stage of Carinhall was built in 1933 and was in comparison to what it would become a smaller hunting lodge in timber. The interior consisted of various hunting trophies and adjacent to the lodge was also built an adjutantur. In 1937 Carinhall expanded and the original lodge was built into the new. It consisted of two wings, a main building and a courtyard. To his daughter Edda (born 1938) he built a castle in miniature. In 1940 Carinhall was expanded once again and plans were made to expand it further after the war and make it a museum (Hermann Goering museum) equipped with art in all its forms and would be ready just in time for Goering’s sixtieth birthday 1953. As late as January 1945, Goering was shown drawings of the proposed museum.

Carinhall became a grand residence, a miniature Versailles if you like, where Goering could hold court and impress prominent guests from abroad. Especially before the outbreak of war when Goering was at the peak of his career. Hitler, however, disliked Goering’s luxurious lifestyle and often made fun of Goering’s personal vanity. But he knew Goering was a good host and knew how to entertain and impress international guests. Hitler, on the other hand, was not nearly as comfortable in the role of host. Therefore he let Goering go on with his lavish lifestyle.

When Goering received guests at Carinhall, they were treated like princes while letting them understand who was number two after Hitler. The guests could either spend the day down in one of the bathhouses that Goering had built by the lake. Or they could play tennis, table tennis, gym excercise or watch movies in the cinema. Goering also had a gigantic railway model in the attic, which at the time was supposed to have been the largest in the world. But what was perhaps the highlight for the guests was when Goering arranged large hunting parties.

Goering had appointed himself the selfmade title, Reich National Hunter, and participated in several hunting parties. Goering had implanted deer in the area in order to hunt. The pet lion cubs that Goering had also attracted a great deal of interest. When they became adults, they were placed in the Berlin Zoo and replaced with new puppies. The halls of Carinhall were adorned by one grand hunting trophy after another. During the war, Goering came to decorate Carinhall with looted art objects from large parts of Europe. When the Japanese foreign minister Matsuoka visited Carinhall in 1941, he got the impression that it was more like a museum than a home.

The name Carinhall probably has two origins. Carin comes from Carin von Kantzow (born Fock). She had met Goering in Sweden in 1920 and they fell in love with each other (see Rockelstad Castle). Carin came to be a supporter of the Nazi movement over the years, but she never got to see Hitler come to power because she died in October 1931, just a few days before her 43th birthday. The word hall that followed Carin probably comes from the Nordic mythology Valhall, which according to mythology is the place where the fallen warriors come after death.

Carin was buried in Sweden, but in 1934, with Carin’s family’s approval, Goering had her remains transferred to a majestic crypt at Wuckersee next to Carinhall. Only Goering had access and he often went there to mourn. In fact, Carinhall became one big memorial dedicated to Carin. Carinhall was not the only thing that Goering named after his first wife, but he also had two luxury boats named Carin I and II. After his second wife, Emmy Sonneman, Goering named his hunting lodge in Rominten, East Prussia, Emmyhall. But it could not measure up to Carinhall just as Emmy could not be measured with Carin.

Goering left Carinhall for the last time on April 20, 1945, to travel to Berlin to attend Hitler’s (last) birthday. Goering understood that he would not return to Carinhall any more and had all the treasures transported to his residence in the Bavarian alps. He also ordered Carinhall to be prepared to be blown up as the Soviet Red Army approached, which occurred on April 28, 1945. Carinhall was more or less completely destroyed and the remaining ruins were destroyed in the early fifties. Schorfheide and Carinhall ended up in the East Germanny after the war, and the area around Carinhall was forbidden to enter until the fall of East Germany in 1990.