German town revokes Adolf Hitler's honorary citizenship

Berlin: A German town has stripped Adolf Hitler of honorary citizenship bestowed upon the Nazi leader 80-years ago after a public outcry.

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 yesterday, 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 second vote passed unanimously.

The council members also stripped Reich President, Paul von Hindenburg, who appointed Hitler, of his honorary citizenship.

A town official said the testimony of a woman who had lost her family in the Holocaust had helped sway those who had originally opposed the move.

Over 4,000 cities, towns and communities awarded honorary titles to Hitler during his time in power, many to mark his 44th birthday in 1933.

Some towns also awarded the same honour to Paul von Hindenburg.

But following the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, many towns and cities immediately rescinded the title.