Photo Gallery Modern Living in a Nazi Courtroom
The building that once housed the Reichskriegsgericht, as the Nazi military court was called, has been completely restored to its pre-World War II appearance. Inside, however, are apartments instead of offices.
Most of the new apartments were immediately snapped up, partly due to the building's proximity to both a quiet lake and the Berlin city center.
Some, though, are unhappy that the building where hundreds of conscientious objectors and resisitance fighters were sentenced to death by the Nazi court is now an apartment house.
Of particular concern is the courtroom. The developer has promised to make it available to the public, but some groups want to turn it into a permanent exhibition on Nazi justice.
The room has been completely restored. It served as a courtroom both before and after the Third Reich, but its time in service of the Nazis is of perticular concern to German historians.
Among those sentenced to death in the building were the resistance fighters from the "Rote Kapelle" who disseminated anti-Nazi propaganda and even helped Jews escape the Nazi death machine.
The building was finished in 1910 and this image is from 1917. It stood empty from 1997 until renovation was completed late last year. The city decided to sell it to a developer when it became clear that money wasn't available to transform it into a memorial.
The apartments range in size from single bedroom flats to luxurious penthouses. The developer said that only one person has been scared away by the building's former purpose.
The building is under protection, and the developers tried to keep as many details true to the original as possible.
The building has been a courthouse for most of its existence -- both prior to and after the Third Reich.
The building's slow disintegration of the property was a critical factor for Berlin officials in deciding to allow the apartment project to go ahead.
