Prince Edward visits iconic former home of Jewish family forced to flee Nazi Germany
''Alexander Haus' is a remarkable story of a family who abandoned their home to escape Nazi Germany, only to rebuild it some 80 years later.
Prince Edward has visited the former home of a Jewish family forced to flee Nazi Germany that has been repurposed as a reconciliation centre.
“Alexander Haus”, also known as the “house on the lake”, is named after the family that lived in the weekend house in Groß Glienicke outside Berlin, but were forced to abandon it in 1936 when they fled to London.
The was built in 1927 by Dr. Alfred Alexander, a famous doctor whose patients included Marlene Dietrich and Albert Einstein.
Several families lived in the house from 1937 until 2003 when it was abandoned and vandalised.
The Alexander family, however, never forgot their house and its idyllic surroundings on the lake. It continued to hold a special place in Alfred’s daughter, Elise Alexander’s heart (Alfred’s daughter).
In 1993, at the age of 80, Elise finally visited Berlin and the family’s old weekend house with her grandson, Thomas Harding: “There was nothing left of their apartment and (Alfred’s) practice in Berlin. None of it had survived the war, so this was the last physical trace of their life in Berlin,” Harding told Jewish News.
Thomas, who remembers fondly how Elise would tell affectionate memories from their years in the house, eventually decided to take matters into his own hands and restore the old house.
“The house was in ruins, there was graffiti on the walls and one the rooms and been used as a drug den. So I said, let’s all go back and fix this place up,” Harding said.
His idea, however, was met with criticism by his family at first: “There were many members of my family who weren’t sure about what we were doing. They were angry with me. But one of my cousins said that this was a chance for reconciliation.”
The local residents also played a crucial part in undertaking the task of restoring the house and building a bridge from the past to the future.
“The local residents were really keen on remembering this history. And if that hadn’t been the case, we wouldn’t have done this. They had already independently researched the history of the Jews in the village. It was important for them to acknowledge the crimes of the past,” Harding said.
Harding’s family made a long-term agreement with the city of Potsdam (which owns the house) to manage the house and finally create a reconciliation centre.
Today, it serves as a historic monument with students attending workshops, learning about the Holocaust and the history of the village and its residents.
And the Alexander Haus foundation is planning on expanding the landmark, with internationally recognised architect David Chipperfield designing a new building on the site.
“My grandmother called it her soul place, it was really important to her. So I think she would have loved what we did with the house, that it’s now a house for reconciliation and to see it restored to its glory,” Harding said.
Harding, who also wrote a book about house called “The House By The Lake”, said it was “an honour” for the family to host Prince Edward, who unveiled a plaque for the house.
“My grandmother used to be a tour guide, showing tourist the royal palaces. So it’s quite charming that they are now coming to see our little house,” Harding said.
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