Editing Rügen (section)

=== GDR era ===
After the [[Second World War]], Rügen became part of the state of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|Mecklenburg]] within the [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR). In 1952, the island became part of the [[Bezirk Rostock|district of Rostock]].

The island was the focal point of Project Rose (''Action Rose'') by the GDR government designed to nationalise hotels, taxis and service companies on 10 February 1953. The occasion was supposed to have been a visit by [[Walter Ulbricht]] to the island of Rügen, during which he had been annoyed by the many surviving private hotels and guest houses. Many of the hotel owners were convicted by [[kangaroo court]]s under the pretext of having been engaged in [[economic crime]] or as agents working for the West. Their property was then confiscated and they were sent to prison. Many of the owners and small businessmen were incarcerated in Bützow prison. The hotels were supposed to have been expropriated by the [[Free German Trade Union Federation]] (FDGB). In fact, they were used as accommodation for the barracks-based "people's police" ({{lang|de|[[Kasernierte Volkspolizei]]}} or CPI). As a result of the confiscation of hotels, tourism on Rügen in 1953 came almost to a complete standstill for a time.

In the following nearly four decades, the island became one of the main tourist areas in the GDR. The FDGB played a dominant role in tourist accommodation. In 1963 the FDGB had 7,519 holiday places, the [[Reisebüro der DDR]] 2,906 places and a further 5,025 were available for businesses and organisations. In addition, there were 12,245 places for children in summer camps and another 20,800 places for campers. The plots were located mainly near the beaches.<ref>Dr. Rudolf Petzold, 1964, Die Bäderküste Rügens, Veb Brockhaus Verlag,Leipzig, page 5</ref> Increased holiday capacity was not however generated until the 1970s and 1980s.