DISINFO: Germany has 40 barracks named after Nazi-era military leaders and refuses to strip Hitler of honorary citizenship
SUMMARY
The German Armed Forces has approximately 40 military barracks named after high-ranking Wehrmacht officers. Even now, 80 years later, authorities in many German cities and lands still officially refuse to deprive Hitler and other members of the Third Reich's high command of honorary citizenship.
RESPONSE
This narrative seeks to discredit Germany and imply a continued glorification of its Nazi past. It is part of a broader pro-Kremlin narrative claiming that European countries are Nazi in essence.
Germany has taken extensive steps to come to terms with its past. Since the early 2000s, and particularly following a 2017 review initiated by then–Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, the Bundeswehr has committed to distancing itself from Wehrmacht traditions. A comprehensive audit of military barracks led to the renaming of multiple facilities, with only a small number (not exceeding half a dozen) having been named after WWII-era figures in the first place.
Military barracks were named after victims of the Nazi regime. For example, a barrack was named after medical student Christoph Probst, who was executed by the Nazis for belonging to the White Rose, an anti-Nazi resistance group. Likewise, in 2012, the main lecture hall at the Bundeswehr's medical academy in Munich was named after one of the group's founders Hans Scholl.
The claim about German municipalities “refusing” to revoke Hitler’s honorary citizenship is false. The vast majority of the 4000 towns that had symbolically granted such titles during the Nazi era revoked them after 1945. In some cases, the revocation did not take place due to administrative oversight, not ideological support. According to The Times newspaper, an average of five municipalities a month make this discovery and vote to remove Hitler from their books. Where such cases have been discovered, they have often prompted public debate and led to official corrective action.
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