NEW plans have been drawn up to attract tourists to a Polish complex used by Hitler during World War II – including using actors dressed in Nazi uniforms.
It’s led to fears that it could result in “insensitive attractions” that could turn it into a ghoulish Nazi theme park.
Hitler spent years in the reinforced headquarters, known as Wolf’s Lair, between 1941 and 1944.
It is already a popular tourist attraction – more than 300,000 people visit per year and pay the 15 zloty (£3.18) entrance fee to walk around.
Within the 250 hectares (618 acres), there were once hundreds of buildings, with a railway line and airstrip as well as military defences.
Many of the buildings were destroyed in 1944, shortly before the Red Army descended.
Since then, nature has taken over many of the remaining buildings.
But new plans have been proposed to draw even more visitors to the site.
These include historical re-enactments with actors posing in Nazi uniforms.
It’s alongside renovations, which will see the run down buildings restored as well as the addition of a restaurants and entrance building
Professor Pawel Machcewicz, a Polish historian told the BBC that it was “outrageous”.
He explained that while re-enactments are helpful in history, they should add content to the place, not “overshadow” it.
He added that, with the location being where Hitler ordered the deaths of many innocent civilians, the attractions need to be sensitive to family members of the victims.
Without this, it could create a “moribund Disneyland”.
The fascination with Wolf’s Lair is also down to the site being of one of the most well-known assassination attempts against the former dictator.
On July 20, a man named Claus von Stauffenberg, a German army officer, deployed a bomb in a briefcase during a military conference, which was intended to kill the dictator.
Claus escaped, although the bomb only killed four men, with Hitler surviving.
Along with his conspirators, Claus was executed shortly afterwards.
Why is it called Wolf's Lair?
In German, Hitler’s military complex was called Wolfsschanze, derived from wolf.
Hitler’s self-adopted nickname was wolf, and he was called this by his closest circle.
The nickname was from Adolf, which means “noble wolf” in Danish.
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