By Kerstin Gehmlich
BERLIN (Reuters) - Plans to include an Adolf Hitler figurein the new Berlin branch of Madame Tussauds wax museum arebeing condemned by critics who say displaying the dictator istasteless and could attract neo-Nazis.
Madame Tussauds, which is due to open its Berlin museumnext month, argues Hitler is part of German history anddeserves a place in the exhibition near the Brandenburg Gate.
"Our surveys show people want to see him because he belongsto Germany's past," said spokesman Natalie Ruoss.
Hitler would be featured as a broken man in a dark,bunker-like setting, with panels providing explanations on thedictator, Ruoss said, adding a figure of former British PrimeMinister Winston Churchill would be shown in the same room.
Opponents of the Hitler waxwork say the man who led Germanyinto World War Two and ordered the extermination of Europe'sJews should not be shown in the same style as popstars,statesmen and famous soccer players.
"It's tasteless," said Johannes Tuchel, from theGedenkstaette Deutscher Widerstand, a memorial for opponents ofthe Nazi regime. "A waxworks museum is meant to entertain andto amuse. It's not appropriate to have a Hitler figure there."
Tuchel said Germany had many historical museums whichinformed citizens about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust,adding a waxworks exhibition could hardly provide the necessaryexplanation and context to treat this chapter of history.
"It's embarrassing that this part of German history shouldbe exhibited like this," he said. "There's also the danger thatyoung people could try to take pictures with Hitler."
UNDER CAMERA SURVEILLANCE
In the Madame Tussauds museum in London, a Hitler figure ison display in the same section as other world leaders from thepast and present, including U.S. President George W. Bush andformer Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, whose waxworks image will alsobe part of the exhibition, has written a letter to the museum,asking for more information on how Hitler will be presented andurging organisers to treat the matter in a sensitive way.
Uwe Neumaerker from the foundation for Germany's centralHolocaust memorial site, based just a few hundred meters awayfrom the museum, said the Hitler figure was tasteless.
"This is all about producing a shock effect and attractingclients," he told Berliner Zeitung daily.
Apart from Hitler, the new museum will also featurewaxworks of scientist Albert Einstein, Chancellor Angela Merkeland sports stars including former tennis champion Boris Becker.
Madame Tussauds spokeswoman Ruoss said visitors would notbe able to pose with the Hitler figure, which would be sealedoff and be under camera surveillance.
"We have considered this problem and have takenprecautions," she said. It is illegal in Germany to displayartwork glorifying Hitler.
In recent years, Germany has begun to treat Hitler withless caution.
The country's first mainstream film about Hitler, the 2004movie "Downfall" sparked a heated debate because it portrayedthe "Fuehrer" in more human terms, showing his mental andphysical erosion during the final days of the war.
Last year, a taboo-breaking Hitler comedy by Swiss-bornJewish director Dani Levy was released in Germany.
(Reporting by Kerstin Gehmlich; editing by Ralph Boulton)
