Hitler town landlord demands visitors speak German
A bar owner in the town where Hitler was born has banned guests from speaking anything other than German.
According to Austrian media a Croatian speaking lady was told by a waitress at the Bar-Silica in Hitler’s home town of Braunau am Inn in Upper Austria that she had to speak German in the bar – or leave.
According to the reports, when the tourist said she did not speak German, she was told: “In Austria you must speak German. The boss wants it that way.”
But now owner Hannes Froschauer has been forced to back track after his demands were compared to Nazi race laws that saw all non Germans as the inferior race.
He said the matter had been blown out of proportion, but in a separate incident an English speaking tourist was also told by Froschauer: “In my bar, only German is spoken.”
“If people here speak a language other than German being spoken it can cause fear. It could be terrorists.”
He said the language ban was also because foreigners were not welcome at his bar, saying: “That is the secret of my success, that is why my bar has been well visited over the last ten years. If I let Turks of people form the former Yugoslavia in, I don’t think many locals would come any more.”
“If you have a table taken by Turks, there are always at least ten of them. If you get a bunch of foreigners that size, then you don’t get any locals in the bar.
“The bar is simply like my living room. I decide who comes in and who can take a seat or not. When I don’t want someone to come in I decide. Full stop.”
He also wants his guests to be smart, saying: “You have to be well dressed in my bar. I don’t want caps, trainers and jogging bottoms or wellies.”
But not everyone shares his point of view – one user posted sarcastically on the bar’s Facebook page, saying: “I am totally embarrassed and ashamed by such statements in my home town.”
Another wrote: “You want to enjoy a drink here? No problem! Here are some tips on how to be welcome in the bar. 1. Dye your hair blond. 2. Shave your beard 3. Dye your eyebrows blond 4. Only speak high German 5. Don’t order any Turkish Delight 6. Buy some blue contact lenses.”