artificial lake in the Leine river valley were: The embankment of the Ihme flood channel The creation of a local recreation area close to the city that provided the opportunity for water sports The elimination of high unemployment levels (which in 1932 was 58,000 Hanoverians) through programmes of public works One factor against construction of the lake was the nearly Bismarck Tower that stood in the centre of the proposed water feature. Here, paramilitary marches took place, and it was the site of a book burning in 1933. The landmark was eventually demolished in 1935 during the course of the lake's construction. Job creation In the 1930s, the era of the Great Depression, the city of Hanover lacked the necessary finances to commence the Masch Lake project, even though the project had already been planned at the time for some ten years. The project was favourable for the Nazi Party that came to power in January 1933 as it would help reduce unemployment levels, which was a central theme of their propaganda. On 28 November 1933 the project was approved at a meeting of the city council. On 21 March 1934 the first ground was broken in the Leine swamp. Despite the unsettled financing of the project, it provided many people with work. Driven by the harshness of the economic situation of the time, they took on tough working conditions and low pay which was barely above unemployment support. During construction, 14 locomotive trains with 365 tipping wagons were used along a track, as well as diggers and 5 crawler tractors. Many workers though had to supply their own tools. Initially there were 100 people working on the project, but by completion 1,650 people had been involved in the excavation of roughly of earth to create the lake basin. With the Masch Lake project fully completed by early 1936, the official opening took place on 21 May 1936. Hundreds of thousands of Hanoverians and guests looked on from the edge of the lake as the event began with the then-typical trooping of the Nazi Party. In addition some 6,000 sporting persons took part in a rally along with the armed forces and public officials. Just a few years later, during World War II, the lake was covered up with canvasses and fake landscapes created on floating islands in an attempt to confuse Allied bomber pilots regarding their whereabouts during air