German Chapel Becomes Neo-Nazi Shrine

Church built with stones quarried by Jewish slaves
By Emily Rauhala,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2010 3:15 AM CDT
Updated Apr 2, 2010 4:13 AM CDT
German Chapel Becomes Neo-Nazi Shrine
The remains of Hitler's retreat were used to build a chapel.   (AP Photo)

A German chapel built using ruins from Hitler's luxury retreat has become a hit with neo-Nazis. The Bavarian government only recently acknowledged that marble blocks and stones quarried by Jewish slaves in Hitler's Berghof in Berchtesgaden were used to build Wegmacher Chapel in 1997. Now leather-jacketed "pilgrims" with shaved heads are leaving notes praising Hitler and carving swastikas on the chapel's walls.

Some Germans are calling for demolition of the chapel. Using Hitler-related items for building projects is against the law in Bavaria. Architect Matthias Ferwagner says the chapel was designed with the ruins in mind. "The idea was that the stones somehow needed to be cleansed, blessed," he tells the Telegraph. He wanted the structure to be a place where people with "evil intentions" could stop and "purge their minds." (More Adolf Hitler stories.)

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