VIENNA - An Austrian town revoked the honorary citizenship of Adolf Hitler on Tuesday in an effort to sever any links with the Nazi dictator's legacy ahead of a 900-year civic anniversary and following a media uproar.
The town council in the western town of Amstetten, 150 km (95 miles) from Vienna, approved by a large majority a motion that the title be declared null and void, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) quoted Mayor Herbert Katzengruber as saying.In an emotional debate, two council members of the right-wing Freedom Party abstained, contending that the vote was unnecessary because the title ended with Hitler's death in 1945.
A Green Party representative started the debate, saying a town historian had revealed the honorary citizenship in 1996. Hitler, an Austrian, visited Amstetten in 1939 and was granted the title, Greens councillor Raphael Lueger told APA.
