Latest news with #MauthausenCommittee
Euronews
an hour ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Hitler's Austrian town to rename two streets honouring Nazi supporters
Two streets in Adolf Hitler's Austrian hometown of Braunau am Inn, which bear the name of two Nazi party supporters — music composer Josef Reiter and entertainer Franz Resl — are to be renamed. Local media reported that the decision was made on Wednesday, following a "secret vote" by the city council, with 28 councillors in favour and nine against. Local authorities had published a previous report which found that maintaining the street names was unconstitutional. Once the name change has been enacted, roughly 200 households will have a new address. The Mauthausen Committee, which raises awareness about what happened at the concentration camp close to Braunau am Inn, said renaming the streets was a decision with "symbolic significance." At least 90,000 prisoners were killed at the Mauthausen camp, while 65,000 Austrian Jews were assassinated over the course of the Holocaust and 130,000 were forced to flee the country. The Mauthausen Committee told local media they are paying tribute to local Austrians who fought against the Nazis with the new street names. Across Austria, the names of other streets and sites have been changed, in order to steer clear from glorifying Nazism. For instance, in 2022 the city of Linz in Upper Austria announced it would rename "Porsche Street" named after one of the most infamous engineers of the Third Reich. Another site which has attracted a great deal of controversy in Braunau am Inn Adolf Hitler's childhood home, in which he was born in 1899. Despite having been used for a variety of purposes — including as a library, a school, but also a shelter for disabled people — for many neo-Nazis it was, and continues to be, a pilgrimage site. To prevent the house from becoming a mass gathering site for neo-Nazis, the Austrian government bought the house from the property's owner in 2016 under a compulsory purchase order, following a heated public debate. While many argued that the house should be demolished, critics stated that such a move would amount to a denial of Austria's history and its role in the Holocaust. In 1989, a memorial stone warning against the dangers of fascism was placed outside the house, which states "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead are a Warning." Three years on, the Austrian government announced that Hitler's childhood home would undergo lengthy renovations in order to be transformed into a police station. In Austria, the Freedom Party of Austria — which came in first in the country's September general election, having been founded in the 1950s by former members of the SS and other Nazi veterans — has soared in popularity in recent years.
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Austrian town to change two streets named after Nazi supporters
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox VIENNA - The Austrian hometown of Adolf Hitler has decided to rename two streets commemorating Nazis following years of complaints by activists, officials said on July 3. Austria is regularly criticised for not fully acknowledging its history. Annexed in 1938 by Hitler's Germany, it was only from the late 1980s that the country began to examine its own responsibility in the Holocaust. Numerous places and streets throughout Austria have been renamed, including one in the city of Linz named after Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the car company, because of his Nazi past. Hitler's hometown Braunau decided late on July 2 to rename two streets named after Hitler associate Josef Reiter and propagandist Franz Resl, municipal councillor Martina Schaefer told AFP. 'There was a secret vote regarding the Josef Reiter and Resl streets – 28 elected officials voted in favour and nine against,' said Ms Schaefer of the opposition Social Democrats. Braunau's municipal government, led by the conservatives, which also rule the country, did not respond to AFP's request for comment. The Austrian Mauthausen Committee, which has long pushed for the streets to be renamed, welcomed a 'decision with symbolic significance'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters going out Friday Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Singapore Universities like NUS need to be open, to become a sanctuary for global talent: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Reiter's honorary citizenship in Braunau was 'revoked on March 19 at our instigation', committee board member Robert Eiter told AFP. In 2016, the Austrian government bought the house in the small town on the German border where Hitler was born in 1889 and began transforming it into a police station to avoid it becoming a neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. The Mauthausen Committee, however, advocates for 'a commemorative use of the house', Mr Eiter said. The Mauthausen Committee, named after the former concentration camp, works to maintain the memory of the crimes committed during the Holocaust. In total, 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed and 130,000 forced into exile during the Holocaust. AFP
Straits Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Hitler's Austrian hometown renames two streets honouring Nazis
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox VIENNA - The Austrian hometown of Adolf Hitler has decided to rename two streets commemorating Nazis following years of complaints by activists, officials said on July 3. Austria is regularly criticised for not fully acknowledging its history. Annexed in 1938 by Hitler's Germany, it was only from the late 1980s that the country began to examine its own responsibility in the Holocaust. Numerous places and streets throughout Austria have been renamed, including one in the city of Linz named after Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the car company, because of his Nazi past. Hitler's hometown Braunau decided late on July 2 to rename two streets named after Hitler associate Josef Reiter and propagandist Franz Resl, municipal councillor Martina Schaefer told AFP. 'There was a secret vote regarding the Josef Reiter and Resl streets – 28 elected officials voted in favour and nine against,' said Ms Schaefer of the opposition Social Democrats. Braunau's municipal government, led by the conservatives, which also rule the country, did not respond to AFP's request for comment. The Austrian Mauthausen Committee, which has long pushed for the streets to be renamed, welcomed a 'decision with symbolic significance'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World US Treasury chief sees 100 countries getting 10% reciprocal tariff Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Universities like NUS need to be open, to become a sanctuary for global talent: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Reiter's honorary citizenship in Braunau was 'revoked on March 19 at our instigation', committee board member Robert Eiter told AFP. In 2016, the Austrian government bought the house in the small town on the German border where Hitler was born in 1889 and began transforming it into a police station to avoid it becoming a neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. The Mauthausen Committee, however, advocates for 'a commemorative use of the house', Mr Eiter said. The Mauthausen Committee, named after the former concentration camp, works to maintain the memory of the crimes committed during the Holocaust. In total, 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed and 130,000 forced into exile during the Holocaust. AFP
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Austria to change two streets named after Nazi supporters
Two streets in Adolf Hitler's hometown in Austria are to be renamed following longstanding complaints that they commemorate Nazis, officials council of Braunau am Inn made the decision on Wednesday after a "secret vote", according to local media. It followed a report, commissioned by the local government, which concluded that keeping the names was streets are named after composer Josef Reiter and entertainer Franz Resl, both of whom were members of the Nazi 200 households will get a new address after the names are changed. The Austrian government has long been criticised by historians for the way it has acknowledged its part in World War Two, and in particular for positioning itself as a victim rather than a move to rename the streets has been welcomed as a "decision with symbolic significance" by the committee that oversees the Mauthausen concentration camp in northern Austria, where at least 90,000 prisoners were killed between 1938– chairman Willi Mernyi told local media that the committee has "worked hard for this", and thanked all who supported Eiter, a committee member, added that they had suggested the names be changed to honour Austrians who actively opposed the Nazis - Maria Stromberger, who joined the resistance while working as the head nurse at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, and Lea Olczak, former deputy mayor of Braunau, whose father died in streets in Austria have already been renamed due to their Nazi associations, including one honouring Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the luxury car company, in the city of Linz - but 80 years on, others still 65,000 Austrian Jews were killed in the Holocaust during World War Two, when the Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitler, worked to eradicate Europe's Jewish population, as well as the Slavic and Roma population. During the war, the Nazi regime systematically murdered more than six million Jewish people.
