You would think that researching a hotel history would be fairly straightforward, but having finished (or so I thought) Scarborough quite a while ago, I came across a new story just the other day. This story involved Adolf Hitler and the plans he had for the Scarborough Grand at the end of the war.
The story was covered in great detail in the Daily Express in May 2018.
According to the Express, Hitler was so impressed with the hotel's grandeur and size that he intended to set it up as the headquarters of the Third Reich. The famous spa waters of Scarborough were to be piped into his bathroom and he was also going to move his lover, Eva Braun into the hotel with him. Scarborough town was to be the venue for a parade to mark the German victory.
Official documents referred to in the article suggest that the German Luftwaffe were instructed to leave the hotel undamaged during the air raids on the town. When the Luftwaffe hit Scarborough in March 1941, the hotel was indeed left undamaged, despite 1400 other buildings being hit. The lack of damage is further surprising because of the anti aircraft guns mounted on the hotel's turrets, which should have made it more of a target. This was in stark contrast to events during the First World War, where the hotel suffered damage during shelling from the German navy because of its prominent and vulnerable position on top of St Nicholas Cliff.
It is thought by historian Mike Covell, that the invasion of Great Britain was to be on two fronts; the south coast and the east coast, with the main landing in Hull, which is close to Scarborough. Hitler famously had a fondness for English seaside towns and so if you take all this into consideration, the plan makes perfect sense.
Whether this story is true or not is up for debate because there have been no contemporary documents found to date, that back up this story.
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