German town strips Hitler of citizenship
20 Dec 2013 6:18 AM IST
A Bavarian town council decided to strip Hitler of his honorary citizenship, a week after attracting international attention when a vote to distance itself from the dictator failed.
The council of Dietramszell, in southern Germany, passed the motion in a special meeting on Wednesday, which confirmed that Hitler lost his honorary citizenship with his death and recognised that the town had been associated with Hitler, the Local reported. “It was never our intention to trivialise the crimes of Adolf Hitler. We underestimated that our voting behaviour could be understood in such a way,” the council said. An archivist found Hitler was made an honorary citizen of Dietramszell in March 1933 sparking the vote led by the mayor, which was expected to be a formality. But members of Dietramszell’s council failed to pass the motion last Tuesday distancing themselves from Hitler. The council was split with eight votes for and eight votes against. Normally motions to strip Hitler of the honour in the thousands of German towns who granted him citizenship pass without opposition. And the failure of the motion attracted widespread criticism and international media attention.
The council of Dietramszell, in southern Germany, passed the motion in a special meeting on Wednesday, which confirmed that Hitler lost his honorary citizenship with his death and recognised that the town had been associated with Hitler, the Local reported. “It was never our intention to trivialise the crimes of Adolf Hitler. We underestimated that our voting behaviour could be understood in such a way,” the council said. An archivist found Hitler was made an honorary citizen of Dietramszell in March 1933 sparking the vote led by the mayor, which was expected to be a formality. But members of Dietramszell’s council failed to pass the motion last Tuesday distancing themselves from Hitler. The council was split with eight votes for and eight votes against. Normally motions to strip Hitler of the honour in the thousands of German towns who granted him citizenship pass without opposition. And the failure of the motion attracted widespread criticism and international media attention.
Next Story
