Upper-class idylls.
In 1882, a petroleum lamp manufacturer bought the island. He had the island filled up and parceled out as a bourgeois arcadia for the construction of country houses. Thanks to the profits in industry and finance, the new upper-class class was able to imitate a lifestyle that had previously been reserved for the nobility. Due to a lack of infrastructure and transport links, sales were slow. The situation only improved with the opening of the Nikolassee train station in 1902. In addition, modern water and electricity supply systems were built. The island now developed into a discreet refuge for wealthy industrialists and bankers, who built exclusive country estates here.
After 1933, high-ranking Nazis took over the island. Jewish owners had to sell their properties due to persecution. Beneficiaries included Joseph Goebbels, Albert Speer and Hitler's personal physician Theodor Morell. One of the country estates was converted into a school for Reich brides. Here, the fiancés of SS and NSDAP officials were ideologically prepared for their marital duties. After the end of the war, the American military elite prepared the Potsdam Conference in one of the villas. Later, Lucius D. Clay planned the relief flights of the Berlin Airlift from here.
As part of the restitution, the properties were returned to their rightful owners. Most of them sold to the state of Berlin. Some of these properties became youth recreation centers. Since the 1960s, private individuals have also been acquiring land again. The most prominent new arrival in 1961 was the publisher Axel Springer. Only six of the historic country houses remain. One of these is the "Schwanenhof" at Inselstrasse 37.