Austrian town to change two streets named after Nazi supporters
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
27 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Power cut to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant; Kyiv blames Russian strike
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The six reactors at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant - occupied by Russia - are shut down, but the nuclear fuel inside them still needs to be cooled, which requires constant power. VIENNA - All external power lines supplying electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine were down on July 4, the UN nuclear watchdog said, and Ukraine blamed Russian shelling for severing the last power line. Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is not operating but still requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool, has switched to running on diesel generators, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. The IAEA has repeatedly warned of the risk of a catastrophic accident at Zaporizhzhia, which is located near the front line in the war in Ukraine. Its six reactors are shut down, but the nuclear fuel inside them still needs to be cooled, which requires constant power. 'Ukraine's ZNPP lost all off-site power at 17:36 today, 9th time during military conflict and first since late 2023,' the IAEA said on X. 'The ZNPP currently relies on power from its emergency diesel generators, underlining (the) extremely precarious nuclear safety situation.' Ukraine's energy minister, Mr German Galuschenko, wrote on Telegram that a Russian strike had cut the plant off. 'The enemy struck the power line connecting the temporarily occupied (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant) with the integrated power system of Ukraine.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore PAP has begun search for new candidates; PM Wong hopes to deploy them earlier ahead of next GE Singapore 20 retired MPs spoke up on many issues in Parliament, helped successors prepare for new role: PM Wong Singapore $3b money laundering case: 9 financial institutions handed $27.45m in MAS penalties over breaches Singapore Banks tighten vigilance and processes following $3b money laundering case Asia JB petrol station shooting: Dead man with bullet wounds dumped at hospital Singapore Trilateral work group formed to address allegations of foreigners illegally taking on platform work Singapore Power distribution system in renewal project may be linked to Bukit Panjang LRT disruption: SMRT Singapore Rise in number of scam e-mails claiming to be from Cardinal William Goh: Catholic Church Neither the IAEA nor the plant's Russian-installed management initially cited a cause for the cut-off. 'The reasons for the disconnection are being clarified. The equipment at the station is in a safe state and under the control of staff. No violations of safety conditions have been noted,' the Russia-installed management said. REUTERS
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says interceptors downed many Russian drones overnight
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A firefighting helicopter flies over the site of Russian drone and missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 4, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that interceptor drones had proved effective in downing many Russian drones deployed in an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv and issued a new call for their rapid development and production. Zelenskiy noted the hours-long assault, the largest in the 40-month-old war with more than 500 Russian drones and missiles deployed, had been "difficult, but a significant portion were still shot down". "Today also brought important results from our interceptor drones. Dozens of Shaheds (Iranian-designed drones) were shot down specifically by these interceptors," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "We are scaling this up as much as possible. More production of these interceptor drones, more training and more preparation for our drone operators. This is a clear task." Zelenskiy has long focused on manufacturing and developing drones, an industry that was virtually non-existent when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022. In recent weeks, he has spoken more specifically of the need to develop drone interceptors to parry increasingly intensive attacks by swarms of Russian drones, deployed along with missiles. Last month, the president noted that Ukrainian companies had already boosted production of the interceptors in response to the increasingly frequent and destructive Russian attacks. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore PAP has begun search for new candidates; PM Wong hopes to deploy them earlier ahead of next GE Singapore 20 retired MPs spoke up on many issues in Parliament, helped successors prepare for new role: PM Wong Singapore $3b money laundering case: 9 financial institutions handed $27.45m in MAS penalties over breaches Singapore Banks tighten vigilance and processes following $3b money laundering case Asia JB petrol station shooting: Dead man with bullet wounds dumped at hospital Singapore Trilateral work group formed to address allegations of foreigners illegally taking on platform work Singapore Power distribution system in renewal project may be linked to Bukit Panjang LRT disruption: SMRT Singapore Rise in number of scam e-mails claiming to be from Cardinal William Goh: Catholic Church Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said last month that developing interceptor drones would help Ukraine use its resources more rationally in fending off Russian attacks, rather than relying on missiles and aircraft. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Policeman injured, attacker killed in southern Russia assault, governor says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A policeman was attacked in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region in the North Caucasus on Friday, leaving one person dead and another injured, regional governor Kazbek Kokov said. According to Kokov, the attacker wounded the policeman with an unspecified bladed weapon before being shot dead. Kokov provided no further details about the incident. The Russian state-run RIA news agency reported that there were two attackers and the second one was at large. Russia's North Caucasus regions have suffered several deadly attacks in recent years. In March, counter-terrorism forces killed four militants affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) who authorities said were plotting to attack a regional branch of the interior ministry. REUTERS
