Better Late Than Never

The decision by Bad Doberan-Heiligendamm to strip the Führer of his honorary citizenship came after anti-globalization groups pointed out that the dictator's name was still on the official rolls. The story was picked up by the international press and was becoming an embarrassment as the resort prepares to welcome the world's most powerful leaders in two months time.

Previously town authorities had argued that there was no need to revoke Hitler's citizenship, claiming that it had automatically expired with his death in 1945. Some legal experts even contended that such a move would be unconstitutional since it would posthumously make the Führer a stateless person.

Now local officials of the Northeastern German town, located 15 kilometers west of the city of Rostock, have decided that a symbolic gesture probably wouldn't be such a bad idea considering the public scrutiny to come with the G8 summit.

Hartmut Polzin, mayor of Bad Doberan-Heiligendamm said he hoped the move would finally spell a end to the "not pretty and unnecessary" discussion.

Erasing an Embarrassment

Hitler was born in Austria, and during the Third Reich, many German cities and towns awarded him honorary citizenship. It has taken years for those distinctions to be rescinded -- in part because so many municipal records were lost in the destruction of World War II.

Historians think that Bad Doberan welcomed Hitler into its ranks in Spring 1932 -- before Hitler became German Chancellor. Indeed, some people believe that the Baltic resort was the first town in Germany to honor the Nazi Party leader in this way.

Now, as the town waits to welcome George Bush, Tony Blair and the rest of the G8 participants, municipal leaders have expunged a name from the past that threatened to remind the world of a dark era of history.