The target is first to buy and then restore and refurbish the building.
To this end the "Kulturgenossenschaft GLOBE" (GLOBE Theatre and Cinema Trust ) was founded on 12 April 2017. The Trust’s constitution can be found on this site in German. The trust board consists of Dr. Nicola Haßold-Piezunka, Elisabeth von Wedel and Michael Hagemeister. The supervisory board has nine members with different expert knowledge. The Kulturgenossenschaft GLOBE has been registered since August 2017 and has been granted charitable status by the tax authorities. The purchase, refurbishing and restoration of the building in line with historical building regulations will cost approximately 1.5 million euros. The first target of 240 000 euros for the acquisition was already passed at the end of 2017 (from members’ shares) while a further 110 000 euros are needed for the urgent repair of the roof. More funding is being actively sought from grants, sponsors, donations and crowdfunding. On June 25th 2018 the Trust bought the GLOBE.
History of the Globe
The GLOBE is a former military theatre which could also serve as a cinema. It was built by the British Army on the site of the Oldenburg-Donnerschwee barracks in 1954. The theatre has an auditorium which can seat 404 and is equipped with a fly loft, orchestra pit, cinema screen and a projection room which are all original. However, years of disuse and neglect have taken their toll on the fabric of the building. The German Army (Bundeswehr) abandoned the site in 1991 and it remained deserted until redevelopment of the area began in 2015. It seems that the British Army built and operated cinemas for the troops as a matter of course. After the Second World War, the Army Kinema Corporation (AKC) was founded with the purpose of running the British Army’s troop cinemas. The headquarters of the AKC were in the Kingsley Barracks in Minden from where it operated 25 cinemas, most of which were also called the Globe and constructed to a more or less standard design. Today, nearly all of these former troop cinemas, built between 1947 and 1957, are either derelict or have been demolished, redeveloped or closed for reasons of safety. Apart from the Oldenburg Globe, two other Globes have survived, one in the northern Rühr region and the other in Todendorf. They are, however, in substantially worse condition and it is unlikely that they can be saved. After the withdrawal of the British Army, many of the troop cinemas passed into the hands of the newly-founded Bundeswehr and were operated by commercial cinema owners or film distributors. Such was the case in Oldenburg, where the local film distributor, Bruno Sabrowski, supplied films to both the GLOBE and the cinema at the Fliegerhorst, the local military airfield. Following redevelopment of the Donnerschwee site to a residential quarter, there are now 850 apartments in the former barrack buildings, most of which have listed building status. The aim is to preserve the GLOBE as a cultural centre for the local community as well as for residents of Oldenburg and the surrounding areas. In June 2018 the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) visited the GLOBE and made a short feature about it which is worth watching!
https://www.forces.net/news/wanted-former-patrons-abandoned-cold-war-cinema