Tombstone for Hitler’s Parents Removed in Austria

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Rubra / Files / Reuters

File photo of the headstone marking the grave of Alois and Klara Hitler, the parents of Adolf Hitler. The tombstone marking the grave of Adolf Hitler's parents was removed from an Austrian cemetery to deter neo-Nazi commemorations of the German dictator.

Partly in an effort to quell pro-Hitler pilgrimages and also because she says she is too old to care for it, an unnamed descendant had the tombstone signifying the grave of Alois and Klara Hitler, Adolf’s parents, removed from an Austrian cemetery.

The move has residents of the Austrian town of Leonding pleased that pro-Nazi fans and supporters won’t have a reason to visit the cemetery and leave their sometimes hate-filled and anti-Semitic messages at the gravesite. The town of 27,500 held a meeting and agreed to let the tombstone go.

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While Hitler was born in a town that has been incorporated by nearby Braunau, he lived in neighboring Leonding from ages 9 through 15 and brought fame (read notoriety) to the town when he visited his parents’ grave and home (which is now used to house coffins for the cemetery and doesn’t attract visitors) in 1938 following Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany.

The descendant, referred to as “an elderly female descendant of Alois Hitler’s first wife, Anna,” terminated the lease agreement with the cemetery because of her age and that she had grown tired of the site serving as a memorial site for pro-Nazi supporters, according to the Associated Press.

The white stone marker, complete with a black marble information plate and faded photos of the couple, was completely removed by a stonemason hired by the family, leaving just white gravel and a tree.

The site is also open for a new lease, according to cemetery officials. There is no word yet on if people are lining up to have their loved one’s remains share a site that once housed Hitler’s parents.

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