Man Rips Head off Hitler

An angry man tore the head from a controversial waxwork figure of Adolf Hitler on the opening day of Berlin's Madame Tussauds museum. This happened a while back but I am trying to understand the prevailing feeling and the attitude of the people who reacted so emotionally to the figure.

A police spokesman said that the man, 41, who was enraged by the exhibit leaped over the barricade and attacked the wax figure. He grappled with Hitler and ripped off his head in protest at the exhibit.
The waxwork figure of a glum-looking Adolf Hitler in a mock bunker during the last days of his life had been criticized as being in bad taste. A media preview of the new branch of Madame Tussauds was overshadowed by a row over the exhibit.

Critics said it was inappropriate to display the Nazi dictator, who started World War Two and ordered the extermination of Europe's Jews, in a museum alongside celebrities, pop stars, world statesmen and sports figures.

Madame Tussauds had been forced to move the model after the row broke out over its inclusion in its German branch. The waxwork was isolated in a replica of the 'Fuhrer's' Berlin bunker, where he killed himself in 1945 at the end of the Second World War.
Dressed in a grey suit, the figure of Hitler gazed downwards with a despondent stare, his arm outstretched on a large wooden table with a map of Europe on the wall. The original plan was to have the dictator placed near his nemesis Winston Churchill, which seemed appropriate since they both dominated the same period of history.
Jewish and anti-fascist groups criticized the decision to display the model, saying that it was included 'merely to generate money'.

'Of course the figure will arouse interest but we hope people will realize he is part of an exhibition with a range of attractions',a rep for the company promoting the Madame Tussauds in Berlin said before the opening.'It will be a shame if he dominates everything.'
 He also said that market research showed there was demand for its inclusion, as long as the portrayal was sensitive.
About 25 workers spent four months on the waxwork, guided by more than 2,000 pictures and pieces of archive material and the model of the 'Fuhrer' in the London branch of Madame Tussauds.
To stop neo-Nazis from trying to pose with the figure for pictures, the bunker was roped off. Signs asked visitors to show 'respect for the millions of people who died in WW2'
The wax Hitler was the latest in a gradual breaking down of taboos about him in Germany more than six decades after the end of the war. A 'human' Hitler was brought to the screen in the 2004 film 'The Downfall' about his end and two years ago a comedy about him was produced by a Jewish director.

 After the waxwork's head was torn off, the bunker where it had been displayed remained empty, guarded by a museum employee.

I think this taboo, in Germany, about representing Hitler in any way, should be broken now. It's past time. He is a part of our history and he is not going away. We should remember him and remember the lessons we have learned from him so we  can prevent such events from ever happening again. We certainly illustrate other fascists from history and there were many who slaughtered  thousands of innocents. We have to look at him , examine him and figure out what made him tick. You can hate him if you want; he deserves it but be a bit more objective about it in this day and age. Your kids should learn about this man and all he represented; they must.