German Town to Strip Hitler's Honorary Citizenship

A town in central Germany plans to strip Adolf Hitler of his honorary citizenship, 68 years after the Nazi leader's death. The town assembly of Goslar in Lower Saxony state has set in motion a procedure that would formally remove the title next month. The dpa news agency reported today that officials previously argued the move was unnecessary because the honor technically expired when Hitler committed suicide days before the end of World War II.

Some councilors had nevertheless pressed for the symbolic move; others argued that it was a pointless attempt to reverse a historical mistake. According to dpa, Hitler had some 4,000 honorary citizenships during his lifetime. Click to read about the recent death of Hitler's bodyguard, the last surviving witness to his bunker suicide. (More Adolf Hitler stories.)