India, Jan. 23 -- A large overnight fire damaged a historic estate north of Berlin that once served as a country residence for Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, with emergency crews continuing efforts to bring the blaze under control, German police said on Thursday.

Witnesses reported smoke coming from a building on the Bogensee site in the town of Wandlitz on Wednesday night, prompting an emergency response, police said in a statement.

On Thursday afternoon, firefighters were still extinguishing pockets of embers.

The Bogensee complex includes several buildings and is best known for the villa built for Goebbels during the Nazi era.

According to initial findings, the building's large hall, the stage and the former speakers' bo...