'Grotesque Nazi Disneyland' on Site of Hitler's Wolf's Lair Set for Makeover

A ‘grotesque Nazi Disneyland’ in Poland on the site of Adolf Hitler’s Wolf’s Liar bunker is to undergo a makeover. The Polish government’s ministry of Culture and National Heritage has stipulated in the latest lease agreement that the site, nestled in the Mazurian Forest, must be converted into a museum and education centre. The authorities are unhappy that visitors are currently allowed to dress up in Nazi uniforms, fire guns in a shooting gallery built into General Jodl’s old offices, and play paintball in rooms where Hitler once plotted world domination. The 600-acre complex, which has its own restaurant, tour guides and cash machine, currently attracts around 200,000 visitors a year. However critics believe the events and decisions which took place within the Wolf’s Lair demand more sober treatment. It is also reported that the Polish government fears neo-Nazi groups are using the site to glorify Hitler’s race hate ideology. Polish intellectual Jan Oldakowski branded the Lair “a grotesque Disneyland” while eminent Polish historian Tomasz Chincinski, who played a key role in the campaign for an educational centre, said: “At this moment, one does not feel the tragic dimension of this place. “We need to work on new ways of telling history, to make young generations want, need, to learn it and understand it.”

via ibtimes: ‘Grotesque Nazi Disneyland’ on Site of Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair Set for Makeover

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