Hitler Statue Decapitated at Berlin Madame Tussauds
July 5 (Bloomberg) -- A man ripped the head off a wax sculpture of Adolf Hitler on the opening day of the Madame Tussauds museum in Berlin, police said.
The 41-year-old man pushed aside a guard and an employee who tried to stop him from attacking the likeness of the Nazi dictator shortly after 10 a.m., Berlin police said in a statement. The man was taken into custody and was due to be released later today, police spokesman Uwe Kozelnik said in a phone interview.
The employee suffered a ``slight'' leg injury in the incident, according to the police statement. The man who lives in Berlin's Kreuzberg neighborhood will face charges related to damaging property and injuring a person. The headless statue was removed from display after the attack.
The new museum, located on Berlin's Unter den Linden, not far from the Brandenburg Gate, opened to the public for the first time today. The statue of the Nazi ruler has sparked criticism with some commentators calling it ``tasteless.''
Madame Tussauds said before the museum opened that it would be leaving a gap in German history if Hitler weren't included in an exhibition showing personalities including actress Marlene Dietrich, Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck and Chancellor Angela Merkel.
``There wasn't a compromise,'' Natalie Ruoss, a spokeswoman for the exhibition told N-TV in an interview before the opening. Madame Tussauds ``wanted to show the entire German history.''
Restrictions
The Hitler statue is placed behind a red cordon and has a sign asking visitors to refrain from taking photographs or posing alongside the figure, out of respect for the millions who died in World War II. According to museum policy, a member of staff is on location to ensure they don't.
Merlin Entertainments Group, Europe's largest operator of visitor attractions, owns Madame Tussauds. Merlin itself is owned by Blackstone Group LP, the world's biggest leveraged buyout firm. Madame Tussauds couldn't be reached for comment.