in detail
The villa "Am Grossen Wannsee" was built in 1914-1915 by the industrialist Ernst Marlier. In 1921, he sold it to Friedrich Minoux, who at the time was a general director of the Stinnes Trust. In 1940, the industrialist Friedrich Minoux sold the villa, which lies on a 30,000 square meter property overlooking a lake, to the SS foundation "Nordhav", that was founded by Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Security Police and Security Service of the SS.
Under the chairmanship of the leader of the Reich Security Head Office Reinhard Heydrich, prominent representatives of the SS and ministerial bureaucracy met at the villa on January 20, 1942 to discuss the mass murder of the European Jews.
The historian Joseph Wulf drew public attention to the villa as the site of the Wannsee Conference. In 1965, Wulf proposed establishing an "International Documentation Center for the Research of National Socialism and its Consequences" at the villa, but his plans failed in spite of prominent national and international support.
Late in 1986, the Berlin Senate announced that it would establish a Holocaust Memorial Museum at this historical site. On the 50th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference it was opened to the public. The group "Remember for the Future, Association for the House of the Wannsee Conference" ("Erinnern für die Zukunft, Trägerverein des Hauses der Wannsee-Konferenz e.V."), which is financially supported by the state of Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany, oversees the management of the memorial museum.
The House of the Wannsee Conference Memorial Museum is a place to learn about history. The contradiction between the idyllic surroundings, the neoclassical splendor and the brutality of the plans which were discussed there stimulates confrontation with past.
Tours through the villa`s permanent exhibition are available, and use of the library and media center is also possible. The educational department offers conferences and seminars as well as assistance with planning and preparation of tours to Poland and Israel. Visits to places significant to Jewish history, persecution and resistance can be incorporated into these excursions. The staff of the educational department also offers help with the planning of seminars, international meetings, memorial tours and long term projects with adults, educators, teachers and pupils and youths.
January 20, 1942
Conference on dealing with the "Jewish question" by means of genocide takes place in the villa.
1941-1945
The villa is used as a guest house by the leaders of the Security Police (SIPO) and the Security Service (SD).
1945
The villa is occupied by Soviet and later American officers.
1945-1952
The villa is the residence of the community college (Heimvolkshochschule) of the August Bebel Institute of the SPD in Berlin.
1952-1988
The villa serves as a school vacation home for Berlin`s Neukölln district.
January 20, 1992
The villa is opened as a memorial on the 50th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference.
