NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7491280.stm

Waxwork Hitler beheaded in Berlin

A man has been arrested after tearing the head off a wax figure of Adolf Hitler at a newly opened branch of Madame Tussauds in Berlin.

The 41-year-old man was held after attacking the waxwork, only hours after the attraction opened on Saturday.

The inclusion of Hitler in the exhibition has aroused controversy in a country where Nazi symbols are banned.

But the exhibition's organisers said they could hardly depict German history without portraying Hitler.

They said the waxwork depicted Hitler in the hours before his suicide, a defeated figure slumped in his bunker as the Red Army reached Berlin.

The Fuhrer was positioned behind a table, which was supposed to prevent visitors posing with the statue - or damaging it.

'Showing reality'

Police spokesman Bernhard Schodrowski said a security guard had been shoved aside by the attacker.

Erasing him from history is not going to bring the perished ones back
Stephen Kramer
Central Council of Jews in Germany

"He tried to prevent the man from acting but failed. The suspect, from the Kreuzberg district, pushed the man aside and lunged at the Adolf Hitler figure and ripped the head off."

Another visitor, who was not named, said the man went straight to the Hitler figure and stepped behind the desk.

"I heard a rumbling and then he tore the figure down off the chair. The security was immediately there and tried to control him but it wasn't easy, he defended himself. Additional security staff took him away then and I had to leave the place," he said.

The attacker was only the second visitor to enter the exhibition, according to one report.

Media criticism

The decision to include a figure of Hitler has been controversial from the start.

Natalie Ruoss, of Madame Tussauds, said: "We did surveys while we were planning the exhibition on the street with Berliners and with tourists, and the result was quite clear that Hitler is one of the figures that they want to see.

"Seeing as we are portraying the history of Germany we could hardly have left him out... we want to show the reality."

Despite some criticism in the media, Stephen Kramer, general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said he did not object to Hitler being shown, as long as it was done properly.

"Hitler should not become a tourist attraction but if this exhibition helps to some extent normalise the way of dealing with Hitler, as a kind of a demystification, let's try it," Mr Kramer told the AFP news agency.

"Erasing him from history is not going to bring the perished ones back, it's not going to heal the damage that he did, the crimes that he did. That would be counter-productive," he said.

The waxwork museum also includes other German historical figures like Otto von Bismarck, Karl Marx, Beethoven, Bach and Einstein.

Foreigners featured include Winston Churchill, Mikhail Gorbachev and Tom Cruise.

Oh, come on, guys. Sure, Hitler is one of the most reviled political figures of all time, but we can get over that and allow a display to exist for the sake of history, can't we?

Also, Tom Cruise? What?

Oh right. Kreuzberg, eh? Probably just really stoned at the time or something.

Kinda ridiculous. I hate Hitler as much as the next red-blooded American boy, but history is history. Denial doesn't work.

(However, I think it would be fun to burn an effigy of Hitler...note for later:D)

didn't he survive the assassination attempt?

didn't he survive the assassination attempt?

all but the last one. if you count suicide as self-assassination...

Easy -- Tom Cruise is in the "people you shouldn't imitate" section. *hides*

Man, I wish they were at least creative in their vandalism.

Just imagine the security cameras getting footage of someone dressed up as Captain America punching off Hitler's head.

Or someone dressed up as Xenu buttsecksing Tom Cruise.

:D

It would have been funnier if they gave the statue a circumcision! Assuming they put penises onto the statues, of course

all but the last one. if you count suicide as self-assassination...

He assassinated himself!?!?:eek:

He assassinated himself!?!?:eek:

That's generally what suicide is. :p

Ah damn! I missed my chance.

He assassinated himself!?!?:eek:
Assassinated himself! LOL!

That's generally what suicide is. :p

Stop explaining my jokes! :p

Stop explaining my jokes! :p

NEVER!

*drops smoke bomb and disappears into the night*

He assassinated himself!?!?:eek:

yep, he caught himself unawares while he was distracted by Eva. :D

I can't believe this sort of hate crime still goes on. Poor waxwork Hitler. I don't know why we don't crack down more on these anti-Nazi scum and their repugnant anti-anti-semitism and Holocaust denial denial :p

Germany is still in massive fear over Hitler (wolfenstein never released there because of LOLHITLER.) so I'm not surprised.

I don't understand. Why would he tear the head off Hitler, but not Tom Cruise?

Hilterphobia is stronger is Germany than anywhere else in the world, except maybe Austria. I can definitely see his motives.

... red-blooded American boy,

OMG WTF Commie!

True Americans have Red white and Blue blood.

OMG WTF Commie!

True Americans have Red white and Blue blood.

So true Americans have Leukemia?

So true Americans have Leukemia?

No no, Americans give leukemia to other people, by dropping nuclear bombs on them! :)

yep, he caught himself unawares while he was distracted by Eva. :D

Eva? You mean the commies were in on this too!?:eek:

Shoulda known. Damn commies, killing Hitler AND distracting Snake.

I don't understand. Why would he tear the head off Hitler, but not Tom Cruise?

Maybe he thought Triumph of the Will was even worse than Mission Impossible.

I don't understand. Why would he tear the head off Hitler, but not Tom Cruise?

Bwahahahahahahaha :D

I find everybody dissing Hitler kinda funny....

Let me put it this way: if Hitler had died in 1939 he would without argument have been seen as the greatest leader that Germany had ever seen....

His actions are both equally impressive and terrifying though.... they show us (or can if you've ever studied him for GCSE history) both what a great leader can achieve and what terrible things a great leader can do if he has no restraints....

So basically what that dude shoulda done was walked over to Hitler said "thank you for the autobahns" and THEN ripped his head off if he really did feel that way......

The history of hitler has already been altered. Yes he went on a killing rampage but you never hear the few good things he did such as ensure Germany wasnt going to be paying off debt for the next 50 years from the first war. Or the fact that his method stopped the country remaining in depressions

I agree hitler was evil scum. But society has already written there own version of him which is not going to be changed at all.

Germany is still in massive fear over Hitler (wolfenstein never released there because of LOLHITLER.) so I'm not surprised.
No, it was never released because of the way in which Nazism was handled. As you may be able to understand, Germans are very serious and concerned about how Nazism is explained to children, and say what you will, Wolfenstein didn't cut a very good figure as far as that is concerned.

Not that I agree with the fact that it was banned, but it certainly wasn't about LOLHITLER.

Hilterphobia is stronger is Germany than anywhere else in the world, except maybe Austria. I can definitely see his motives.
Except that nobody in Germany agrees with his motives. Tussaud only included the figure after doing a survey in which it found that the majority of Germans think that this exhibition needed his inclusion to make sense.

His actions are both equally impressive and terrifying though.... they show us (or can if you've ever studied him for GCSE history) both what a great leader can achieve and what terrible things a great leader can do if he has no restraints....
Of course, if you go beyond GCSE history, you'd have to change your mind again.

The history of hitler has already been altered. Yes he went on a killing rampage but you never hear the few good things he did such as ensure Germany wasnt going to be paying off debt for the next 50 years from the first war. Or the fact that his method stopped the country remaining in depressions
He didn't.

Let me make this very clear: By the time Hitler took over Germany had ceased to pay reparations, because during the hyperinflation the country just couldn't do it anymore. By the time he took over that episode had also ended, hyperinflation had already been defeated. The economy was recovering and unemployment was already falling, to which Hitler simply added artificial state-financed jobs that were a by-product of trying to get the country ready for a war.

Hitler did not save Germany from anything. He was not a great leader for the country, war or no war. Adenauer and Erhard for example were far, far superior. And they even managed to do it without sending political enemies into concentration camps.

so your saying that the autobahns are not useful?

I don't understand. Why would he tear the head off Hitler, but not Tom Cruise?

Yeah seriously, I'd do both. Or switch their heads around.

Except that nobody in Germany agrees with his motives. Tussaud only included the figure after doing a survey in which it found that the majority of Germans think that this exhibition needed his inclusion to make sense.

No. Tussaud did a survey that found that the majority of Berliners and tourists think that this exhibition needed his inclusion to make sense. Whether that's functionally different from the majority of Germans or not I'll leave to you.

OMG. I saw Madame Tussaud's in London when I was little. Lovely craftwork, not a political statement. Not a serious source of historical information. I could see that, and I was like ... eight? ... or something.

This puny terrorist should pay to have the statue restored (to the best of his ability, let Tussarde's bill like an insurance job). This is not the way to participate in public political debate.

Perhaps he could write a book while he thinks it over in jail. ;)

I'll admit I was tempted to smash the case at Madame Tussaud's in London (where Hitler presides at the entrance to teh Chamber of Horrors), but I had the tact to restrain myself.

It would be fun to burn an effigy of Hitler.

She's only 41...she wasn't even alive when Hitler was in power.

Personally, I'd like to see a huge Operation Barbarossa wax sculpture with Hitler and Stalin battling it out over a platform in the shape of the Soviet Union, with the figures carefully placed to accurately reflect the extent of the operation. If you're cool, you could include Fall Blau as well but that's a little too much detail.

I'll admit I was tempted to smash the case at Madame Tussaud's in London (where Hitler presides at the entrance to teh Chamber of Horrors), but I had the tact to restrain myself.

It would be fun to burn an effigy of Hitler.

Yay. :D

You bring the Hitler and a can of petrol, I'll put together an effigy of Stalin and supply the beer!

She's only 41...she wasn't even alive when Hitler was in power.

Personally, I'd like to see a huge Operation Barbarossa wax sculpture with Hitler and Stalin battling it out over a platform in the shape of the Soviet Union, with the figures carefully placed to accurately reflect the extent of the operation. If you're cool, you could include Fall Blau as well but that's a little too much detail.

Oh god yes.

Just...Just..

yes....

so your saying that the autobahns are not useful?
No, I'm saying that they weren't that big a deal. And, of course, that they weren't Hitler's idea.

It's a minor detail that often gets left out of the traditional narrative, I know, but I personally think it makes a difference:
http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth08.htm
Hitler planned and built the Autobahn. Or did he?

In reality, the first section of what would later become the legendary German autobahn network was constructed and built before Hitler came to power. Construction on the Köln-Bonn Autobahn began in 1929. During opening ceremonies on August 6, 1932, none other than Konrad Adenauer was on hand to inaugurate the 20 km (12 mi) section of autobahn running between Cologne and Bonn. Adenauer, then the Oberbürgermeister (mayor) of Cologne, proclaimed: "So werden die Straßen der Zukunft aussehen." ("This is how the roads of the future will look.") Adenauer supported the autobahn project partly as a way to create jobs during hard economic times. Later he would become West Germany's first Bundeskanzler (chancellor, from 1949 to 1963).

AVUS and the World's First Autobahn

But the Cologne-Bonn superhighway was not the world's or Europe's first superhighway. The credit for that goes not to Hitler but to Benito Mussolini. The 80-mile autostrada from Milan (Mailand) to Varese was the world's first limited-access motorway. Designed and developed by Piero Puricelli, the Italian autostrada opened to traffic in 1924. Unlike the later autobahn, the Milan-Varese expressway was a toll road and did not have divided lanes until years later.

But the earliest precursor of the autobahn was German. Construction of the "intersection-free" AVUS (Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße) began in Berlin in 1912. Not fully completed until 1921, the AVUS was essentially a closed race and test track. The industrialist Hugo Stinnes later purchased the roadway and expanded it to four lanes running a distance of almost 20 km (12 mi). Only much later did the AVUS connect with Berlin's public road network. Today it is part of the A115 autobahn.

No. Tussaud did a survey that found that the majority of Berliners and tourists think that this exhibition needed his inclusion to make sense. Whether that's functionally different from the majority of Germans or not I'll leave to you.
I suppose.

But seriously, I really don't think that Germans are that hysterical about it anymore. The exhibition includes lots of historical figures, from Beethoven to Karl Marx, as well as Winston Churchill. Including sad, lonely Hitler contemplating suicide (and I personally think they handled it extremely well) really isn't offensive enough to warrant an exlusion from what is in part a treatment of German history.

It would be fun to burn an effigy of Hitler.
Then make one. It would be a lot fairer to the owners of Tussaud and the people who actually want to see the exhibition.

It would be fun to burn an effigy of Hitler.

Why? What's the point, he is dead. In fact what is the point with those people who burn effigys of people it befuddles me as to why people do it.

Also some people really need to move on from something that happened 60 years ago, yes lets us remember it correctly (Leon I am looking at you) I will argue some of your points when I get more time. And lets us try to ensure that this dosen't happen again but to continue to still harp on about it sounds a bit petty.

Just to finish the story off, here we go:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,564341,00.html
Hitler Will Return, Vows Berlin Madame Tussauds

The wax doll of Adolf Hitler beheaded by a protester at the opening of Madame Tussauds in Berlin on Saturday is being repaired and will be returned to the exhibition as soon as possible, said Madame Tussauds, defying criticism that it shouldn't have included the Nazi leader in the first place.

[...]

On Saturday a 41-year-old former policeman from Berlin leapt over the desk at which the Hitler figure was seated and tore off its head. He reportedly shouted "No More War!" during his attack. A security guard was slightly hurt in the subsequent scuffle.

Police briefly detained the man, named only as Frank L., on suspicion of damaging property and causing injury. He has been hailed by his friends as a hero and told the mass-circulation Bild newspaper how he got the idea for the attack: "I was sitting in the pub with friends. We talked about the figure and about how it was put up so close to the Holocaust memorial. So we had a bet on whether I would do it."

The doll is worth €200,000 but Frank L., who is unemployed, said he wasn't worried about having to pay for the damage. "I'm poor, there's nothing to take."

[...]

So there we go. A deadbeat idiot having one too many beers, and that's that.

Adolf Hitler is probably one of the few people who is less creepy and evil-looking as a waxwork.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7491280.stm



Oh, come on, guys. Sure, Hitler is one of the most reviled political figures of all time, but we can get over that and allow a display to exist for the sake of history, can't we?There's actually another wax-figure of his in Berlin, its just that it hasn't gotten as much media attention as Mme Tussaud's, so no one was outraged.
Also, Tom Cruise? What?Got a prize for being courageous enough to play Stauffenberg :rolleyes: