Wax Adolf Hitler Beheaded In Berlin

(AP)  A man tore the head off an Adolf Hitler wax figure at Madame Tussauds' new branch in Berlin in what appeared to be a symbolic protest on the museum's opening day Saturday, officials said.

Police said the 41-year-old man shoved aside two museum employees - one of whom was assigned to protect the exhibit - and slightly injured one of them. He then ripped the head off the likeness of the Nazi dictator.

Police said they arrested the man and he told them he was protesting against the Hitler figure.

The man was only the second visitor to enter the museum, employee Stephan Koch said - adding that he and a colleague had tried unsuccessfully to prevent the assailant from jumping over a table in front of the figure and damaging the effigy.

The Berlin resident now faces an investigation on suspicion of causing damage to property and bodily harm, police spokesman Bernd Schodrowski said.

Koch said the damaged figure has been removed for now, but the museum remained open. Museum official Nathalie Ruoss said organizers would decide Monday what to do about the figure.

The presence of the Nazi dictator's likeness in the new museum led to criticism in German media over recent weeks, but defenders of the plan argued Hitler's role in German history could not be ignored.

Last month, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit urged the museum to consider carefully whether to include Hitler and, if it did, to ensure that he not be shown as a "cult figure."

The museum, which is near the German capital's Brandenburg Gate, pledged to portray Hitler without glorifying him, as he would have looked shortly before his 1945 suicide.

It produced a likeness of the Nazi leader hunched over a desk in a dimly-lit bunker. The figure, unveiled to journalists Thursday, showed Hitler - with deep lines furrowing his forehead - sitting beneath a map of Europe on the wall, monitoring the advance of allied troops from the east and west.

Museum officials offered assurances that visitors would not be able to touch, photograph or pose with the wax Hitler - unlike the rest of the 75 figures in the new collection.

Prominent figures in the two-story exhibition, which spreads out over nearly 27,000 square feet, include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, communist East Germany's longtime leader, Erich Honecker and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

[tmn]

When you say Hitler, you've said it all.

[whiskyrocker]

Fuc* HITLER!

[nealandertha]

Did the perpetrator make love to the eye socket of the skull like a good Nazi?

[vietnam21]

I agree with President Carter when he says that the moron-in-chief is the WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.

Carter or Clinton ?

[vietnam21]

WWII most cited by historians is around 50 million.

Where the hell do you get this number.

[l8c6]

===Total human losses
The total estimated human loss of life caused by World War II was roughly 72 million people, making it the deadliest, and most destructive war in human history. The civilian toll was around 47 million, including 20 million deaths due to war related famine and disease. The military toll was about 25 million, including the deaths of about 4 million prisoners of war in captivity. The Allies lost approximately 61 million people, and the Axis powers lost 11 million.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia===
Posted by jankebenz

The official toll of WWII most cited by historians is around 50 million. I wouldn''''t consider Wiki the end all-be all of evidence.

Posted by Rafterman1




And to hear a Jew talk you''d never think any other people died at the hands of the Nazis.

[l8c6]

I agree with President Carter when he says that the moron-in-chief is the WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.

I pity anyone who compares themself to Carter, it is agreed by every poll ever taken that Carter was the worst president this country ever had. He is the laughing stock of the world.

Posted by dmw1167

That is a very very very gross distortion. One of the ultimate lies of the 3rd Reich Wing republican party. Cheney was present during the Nixon years and returned to the private corporate world like satan being caged for a few years still spewing bile with all the right wing scum bags who are bringing this country down to an level that will permit a king, dictator or an oligarch to take over.

The right wing created the image of a failed Carter. The economy was in shambles after tricky D*ick Nixon and the debt of the Vietnam War.

The right wing special interest party of dictatorship will lead to much suffering again and the right wing special interest corporate kingdom elite media will gladly ride the next Democrat into the ground just like the corrupt diabolical so*ns*of*bi*tch*es have in the past all the while the minions claiming the media is too liberal.

[reptilian96]

WAR CRIMES ONLY BRING MORE CRIMES. WE CAN''T BLAME PEOPLE FOR IT OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER. ONLY THE SURVIVOR KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM OR HER. OPRESSION, SUPPRESSION WILL NOT WORK, IT WILL ONLY ADD MORE FUEL TO THE FIRE. FOR EXAMPLE: IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY, PLO AND ALL. WHAT MAKE ME SICK IS UNNECESSARY WAR. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO DIPLOMACY? I HAVE SUGGESTION HOW TO WIN WAR WITHOUT CIVILIANS DEATHS. "WIN THE PEOPLE AND YOU WIN THE WAR" ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. IF YOU CAN KILL PEOPLE, YOU CAN FIND WAYS TO WIN PEOPLE TOO.

[cdfoxtrot]

posted by cdfoxtrot

I agree with President Carter when he says that the moron-in-chief is the WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.

I pity anyone who compares themself to Carter, it is agreed by every poll ever taken that Carter was the worst president this country ever had. He is the laughing stock of the world.

Posted by dmw1167

Absolutely untrue. President Carter is highly respected globally and his views gain tremendous coverage as such. The current excuse for a president IS, however, widely ridiculed by just about everyone. HE''s the laughing stock and embarrassment, every time he opens his ignorant mouth.

[sociald63]

to the morons comparing hitler to bush...get a life and go back home to your mama''s garage.