Former cop fined for decapitating Hitler wax figure
A former police officer who ripped off the head of a Madame Tussauds waxwork of Adolf Hitler last year was fined €900 in damages by a Berlin court on Tuesday.
The 42-year-old former Berlin cop told the court that he didn’t want to hurt anyone with the stunt but said it had "been necessary."
The man, who is on the dole, said the move followed a bet he took with friends a day prior to the museum’s opening last year and was carried out “to save face.” He added that he and his friends had all thought the exhibition with the controversial Hitler waxwork was “completely inappropriate.” He said he strongly objected to the Nazi leader being on display just 500 metres away from the German capital's Holocaust memorial.
The former cop is accused of attacking the Hitler wax figure on July 5 last year, the day the Tussauds museum opened in Berlin. Second in line when the museum opened its doors, he ran up to the wax figure seated behind a desk, wrestled with a security guard and ripped off the figure's head.
Museum authorities said the incident resulted in damages worth €6,300. The Hitler figure was put back on display in September, this time behind a glass screen.
The Berlin branch of Madame Tussauds, located on the Unter den Linden boulevard, was strongly criticized for including the Nazi leader in its exhibition.
The museum displays 75 wax figures from German politics, sports and show business – including actress Marlene Dietrich, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Albert Einstein and Karl Marx.
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The 42-year-old former Berlin cop told the court that he didn’t want to hurt anyone with the stunt but said it had "been necessary."
The man, who is on the dole, said the move followed a bet he took with friends a day prior to the museum’s opening last year and was carried out “to save face.” He added that he and his friends had all thought the exhibition with the controversial Hitler waxwork was “completely inappropriate.” He said he strongly objected to the Nazi leader being on display just 500 metres away from the German capital's Holocaust memorial.
The former cop is accused of attacking the Hitler wax figure on July 5 last year, the day the Tussauds museum opened in Berlin. Second in line when the museum opened its doors, he ran up to the wax figure seated behind a desk, wrestled with a security guard and ripped off the figure's head.
Museum authorities said the incident resulted in damages worth €6,300. The Hitler figure was put back on display in September, this time behind a glass screen.
The Berlin branch of Madame Tussauds, located on the Unter den Linden boulevard, was strongly criticized for including the Nazi leader in its exhibition.
The museum displays 75 wax figures from German politics, sports and show business – including actress Marlene Dietrich, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Albert Einstein and Karl Marx.
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