Google Earth raises hell with Mount Hitler name slip

Technical accident enrages local mayor

By Jan Libbenga • Get more from this author

Posted in Science, 9th March 2007 15:18 GMT

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The mayor of the German town of Bad Toelz, Germany, is angry with Google Earth for its reference to a nearby "Mount Hitler".

The official name for the 1,205 metre peak near the Bavarian town is Heigelkopf. But for a short time during the Third Reich it was named Mount Hitler.

The municipality of Wackersberg, like many other towns in Germany, declared Hitler as an honorary citizen and dedicated the hill to him. In July 1933, a 10 metre high illuminated swastika was erected on the top and stood there until the end of World War II in 1945.

Mayor Georg Kellner is outraged: "I'm 64 years old now but I haven't heard the name 'Mount Hitler' in all my life. What's with this stupidity?" he told Der Spiegel, which broke the story earlier this week.

Google admits that the name had appeared because of a "technical accident". However, it isn't this first time references to Nazi Germany have created a bonfire. Last year Google Earth aficionados discovered a fountain in the town of Maasmechelen in Belgium, which looked like a swastika from the air. The fountain has spouted happily for over 27 years. However, the mayor said he would replace it, fearing the town would otherwise be doomed.

Others discovered a Swastika shaped Navy base building in Coronado, California. Apparently, the building was constructed prior to WWII, so the swastika symbology was completely unintentional.®

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