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Nazi-themed German production of Wagner opera canceled

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:52:00 +0000

The Rheinoper in Düsseldorf, Germany has canceled its production of Richard Wagner's "Tannhäuser" -- which has a Nazi story line -- after a series of complaints and outrage from the audience, including audience booing and banging on doors. Some even required medical assistance.

The play opened last Saturday and according to the Guardian "was expected to be one of the highlights of the celebrations" for the bicentenary of the composer's birth.

From the Guardian:

The opening scene depicts singers inside glass containers dropping to the floor as they are enveloped in a white fog – a clear allusion to the gas chambers that killed millions in Nazi death camps.

Another scene that caused some in the audience to gasp and cover their faces was one in which an entire family had their heads shaved before being shot dead.

In a statement, Rheinoper's managers acknowledged that they had always accepted that the production would be controversial, "but it's with great regret that we now react to the fact that some scenes, in particular the very realistically portrayed shooting scene, caused such strong psychological and physical reactions in some visitors that some of them had to be taken into medical care".

Alleged Auschwitz guard arrested on suspicion of accessory to murder

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:58:00 +0000

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have arrested a 93-year-old alleged former Auschwitz guard who once lived in the United States on suspicion of accessory to murder.

Hans Lipschis was taken into custody Monday after prosecutors concluded there was "compelling evidence" he was involved in crimes at Auschwitz while there from 1941 to 1945.

Lipschis acknowledges he served with the Nazi SS in the notorious death camp but claims he was only a cook. About 1.5 million people, primarily Jews, were killed at the camp complex.

Lipschis was deported from the U.S. in 1983 for lying about his Nazi past when he immigrated to Chicago in the 1950s after the war.

Stuttgart prosecutors say a doctor confirmed his health remains good enough for him to be kept in detention.

New research reveals nearly half of Vienna Philharmonic musicians tied to Nazi party during WWII

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:00:00 +0000

The Vienna Philharmonic, considered to be one of the best orchestras in the world, confirmed a long-held suspicion today when the prestigious institution revealed that it once had strong ties to the Nazi party.

After mounting political pressure, the Philharmonic commissioned a group of independent historians to examine the orchestra's archives between years 1938-1945. The report reveals that in 1938, 13 musicians were dismissed for either being Jewish or married to Jews, and that by 1942, 60 out of 123 musicians identified with the Nazi party, reflecting a higher percentage of Nazi sympathizers within the organization than among the Austrian population.

The report also explains that the orchestra became an instrument of propaganda for the Nazi party, including its famous New Year's Day concert. The anti-Jewish sentiment continued after the war as well; only 10 Nazi sympathizers were forced to leave the orchestra after the war ended.

A neo-Nazi spotted among Keystone XL pipeline workers

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:22:00 +0000

It is not uncommon for environmental activists to refer to their big business opponents as "fascists." It is, however, less common for an environmentalist's bête noire to actively own the term.

Yet according to photo and video evidence captured during a protest against Keystone XL pipeline construction in Texas last week, there appears to be an actual neo-Nazi among the ranks of construction workers (see image above).

"[A] Keystone XL construction supervisor was on scene directing workers and police while wearing a helmet covered questionable symbols: a Swastika and confederate flag," noted the Tar Sands Blockade group, which is spearheading resistance to the TransCanada-owned pipeline -- a project that threatens water supplies and ecosystems, expands U.S. reliance on oil and promises to further line Koch brother pockets.

Ron Seifert, an activist and spokesperson for the Tar Sands Blockade, confirmed the veracity of the racist symbol image. "It's very real, not tampered with at all. I was there," he told Salon. Footage from the protest (see below) -- during which Green Party nominee for president Jill Stein was arrested -- also captures the Nazi-helmeted man.

Germany accuses Philadelphia man of being Nazi SS guard

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:57:00 +0000

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has launched a war crimes investigation against an 87-year-old Philadelphia man it accuses of serving as an SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp, The Associated Press has learned, following years of failed U.S. Justice Department efforts to have the man stripped of his American citizenship and deported.

Johann "Hans" Breyer, a retired toolmaker, admits he was a guard at Auschwitz during World War II, but told the AP he was stationed outside the facility and had nothing to do with the wholesale slaughter of some 1.5 million Jews and others behind the gates.

The special German office that investigates Nazi war crimes has recommended that prosecutors charge him with accessory to murder and extradite him to Germany for trial on suspicion of involvement in the killing of at least 344,000 Jews at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in occupied Poland.

The AP also has obtained documents that raise doubts about Breyer's testimony about the timing of his departure from Auschwitz.

The case is being pursued on the same legal theory used to prosecute late Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk, who died in March while appealing his conviction in Germany on charges he served as a guard at the notorious Sobibor death camp, also in occupied Poland.