Row Over Plans For Hitler's Birthplace

Row Over Plans For Hitler's Birthplace
Sky News – 5 hours ago

The house where Adolf Hitler was born has become the subject of a fierce debate after the mayor of the dictator's home town suggested turning it into apartments.
Johannes Waidbacher sparked criticism in Austria by saying he wanted the vacant building in Braunau to become a living space rather than an anti-Nazi memorial.
"We are already stigmatised," he told the Austrian daily Der Standard. "We, as the town of Braunau, are not ready to assume responsibility for the outbreak of the Second World War."
Mr Waidbacher has since been accused of trying to bury memories of the Nazi past.
The 500-year-old building, which has thick walls, a huge arched doorway and deep-set windows, was most recently used as a workshop for people with learning difficulties, before that tenant moved out last year for more modern quarters.
And anger at Mr Waidbachers comments has been particularly acute because Braunau's town council only withdrew honorary citizenship from Hitler last year, 78 years after he was given the accolade.
The mayor has since stepped back, saying he can conceive of "all possible uses" for the building.
But fears persist among many in the town that any flats could be filled by admirers of Hitler.
Town council member Harry Buchmayr said most visitors were not normal tourists but neo-Nazis stopping to pay homage, even though the dictator spent only the first few months of his life in the building.
"These are certainly people we don't want here," he said.
One resident, 19-year-old Susanne Duerr, said: "I wouldn't want to live there. I think I would have a bad conscience."
And another town resident, Georg Hoedl, 88, said: "There should be something else inside, something cultural. But apartments - I'm not for that."
His wife Erika, 73, added: "(It) wouldn't be pleasant for the tenants. Once they moved in they would be asked about this all the time."
Austria's Interior Ministry has rented the house since 1972 from the owner - a woman in her 60s who refuses to be identified publicly - and has been careful to sublet only to tenants with no history of admiring Hitler.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sonja Jell said the ministry remained "particularly sensitive" about the future uses of the building considering its legacy.
Its fate will ultimately be decided by the owner, who is known to be opposed to turning it into a Holocaust memorial - meaning there is still a chance it could be converted into apartments.
The house is one of the few remaining structures directly linked to Hitler. A house in nearby Leonding where he spent some teenage years is now used to store coffins for the town cemetery.
The tombstone marking the grave of Adolf Hitler's parents in that graveyard, a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis, was removed last year at the request of a descendant.

In my opinion, I think that Hitler´s house should be demolished, or better yet, demolish the house and install there a monument about the innocent victims.

he was not the kind of person who should be remembered due to his crimes. History already have his name written there, due to his crimes.

Trouble is, it's 500 years old, so it was a historic building before Hitler came along.

I cannot imagine anyone wanting to live in it, I certainly wouldn't, but surely there is some other use it can be put to?

bb1 wrote:Trouble is, it's 500 years old, so it was a historic building before Hitler came along.

I cannot imagine anyone wanting to live in it, I certainly wouldn't, but surely there is some other use it can be put to?

The problem is not the building, it's the neo nazis who, as Hitler had no known grave and many buildings associated with him, the Wolf's Lair in Prussia and Berchtesgarten in Bavaria, are just weed covered ruins or have been torn down and replaced by something else. You probably saw in that article that the headstone of his parents was removed after it became a place of pilgrimage for the nazis. Really, despite its age I think it would be best torn down and turned into something, tho even then the nazis will still visit it and lay flowers. It is a pity this has suddenly erupted into the open, Branau is a small rural village/town where, I would think, people prefer to forget Hitler and the past. After all, he did renounce his Austrian nationality and became German so he could become Chancellor. I think no-one in Branau imagines they own him anything. LL

Poland is thinking of turning the Wolf's Lair into a tourist attraction, LL;

Hitler's 'Wolf Lair' hidden deep in Polish forest to be turned into major tourist attraction

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088543/Hitlers-Wolf-Lair-hidden-deep-Polish-forest-turned-major-tourist-attraction.html#ixzz27lMm24lb
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Which might actually work, as neo-nazis wouldn't be too keen on pilgrimages there; visitors are more likely to be genuinely interested in history, and to see how close von Stauffenberg came to killing the b*gger.

That's been and on-off-on scenario for years bonny. As for neo nazis being less keen, I am afraid they may be very keen as it is a place where Hitler's foot touched the earth, whether or not there is a Holocaust Museum there or not. For years they have been searching for his final resting place, which maybe somewhere in the old Soviet Union, there are so many rumours. And as someone pointed out some time ago, how do you recognise a nazi, they don't have a hakenkreuz on their forehead. The Poles should leave well alone, they have Auschwitz etc as memorials. LL

Thanks, LL, you are more aware of the nuances of it all than someone like me watching from far away.

I thought the last remaining bit of Hitler's skull turned up in Moscow a while back, was burned and crushed, then thrown in a sewer?

bb1 wrote:Thanks, LL, you are more aware of the nuances of it all than someone like me watching from far away.

I thought the last remaining bit of Hitler's skull turned up in Moscow a while back, was burned and crushed, then thrown in a sewer?

I heard that too; but it was never proven. Whatever remains of that evil man is best left where it is. As haqlf Austrian, I am somewhat sensitive where the nazis and Hitler are concerned, and I am afraid I see a monetary reason for the Poles wanting that memorial; sorry, but it is so unnecessary. It is past, let us try and move on. LL

about: "Poland is thinking of turning the Wolf's Lair into a tourist attraction", well, they can always install a monument or a sign in front of the building with this: here born the beast called Hitler,a mass-murderer who slaughtered millions of innocents, just because had the idea of creating a pure race, but for that had to eliminate millions of inocents, due to his racism concept. To turn the house of that murderer into an attraction, it is, in my opinion, a disrespect to those who died in those gas chambers, also a disrespect to the families or relatives of those who lost their innocent lives, which exists even today,

another reason to demolish his house: "they have Auschwitz etc as memorials".

In Austria we don't want any memorials to Hitler, Pedro, we are still trying to live down the shame he brought upon us. The Poles should have the same attitude, I feel. He almost destroyed their country, killed many of the teachers, intellectuals etc because he considered them a threat. There should be no memorial/monument to him anywhere. LL

you´re right Lamplighter, I agree with you.