On 24 August 1938, the newspaper Hoy reported with large headlines the industrial project that a German engineer —Gustavo Winter— was planning to develop on the Jandía peninsula: boats to fish in the Canarian-Saharan fishing bank, to produce tuna and sardine preserves, and fish meal, saltworks, an electrolytic plant, mills to obtain energy from the wind and to develop agriculture.
Immediately, the British consul communicated his suspicions to his embassy in Madrid, and the latter to London, that it could actually conceal German strategic military interests. Nevertheless, the intelligence service periodically reported that it had inspected the area by sea and by air and had found nothing. But the suspicions persisted.
At the end of 1946, the construction of what is known as "Casa Winter" in Cofete began. Its strength and striking appearance, its location in such a remote place, and the fact that its promoter was of German origin have unleashed the imagination of many, giving rise to a multitude of fabrications based on mere speculation, which some repeat without verifying their veracity.
An article in Interviú magazine in 1983 amplified these suspicions. Still, its claims were based on a false consultation with Simon Wiesenthal and references to a fictitious historian —Juan Barrios Urumea— who never existed.
In Mr Simon Wiesenthal's initial response, one reads:
"... the press article is utter nonsense, and no journalist has ever spoken with us about Jandía, nor has received information that he claims to have received from us."
Official documentation refutes these rumours. Consultations with the Bundesarchiv confirm that he was not affiliated with the Nazi Party, and the Wiesenthal Documentation Centre, an institution dedicated to pursuing Nazi fugitives, certifies that he was not involved in Nazi activities of any kind.
The mysteries surrounding Casa Winter Cofete are more a matter of speculation than of historical evidence.
The mysteries surrounding Casa Winter Cofete are more a matter of speculation than of historical evidence. The testimonies of the inhabitants of Cofete who participated in its construction or witnessed it confirm its construction dates: it began at the end of 1946 and continued until 1954.
