Nazi Architect's Son Has His Own Designs

Network provides glimpse of megalomaniac's plans for world capital

(NEWSER) - Berlin has opened three vast tunnels under the city built as part of Adolf Hitler's vision of a grandiose Nazi capital, Reuters reports. The tunnels were to house a transit system beneath planned boulevards, squares, and huge buildings, including a Great Hall with room for 180,000 people. The Albert Speer-designed plans for the new capital—known as "Germania"—were halted by the outbreak of World War II. More»

Hitler ordered Porsche to replicated Josef Ganz's prototype

(NEWSER) - Adolf Hitler took the original design for the Volkswagen Beetle from the brainchild of a Jewish engineer, the Jerusalem Post reports. Historian Paul Schilperoord claims in his forthcoming book The True History of the Beetle that a prototype Josef Ganz designed in the late '20s had many of the Beetle’s distinctive features, such as a rear-mounted engine. He even called the completed prototype, constructed in 1931, the Maikäfer, or "May-Beetle." More»

(NEWSER) - Hitler's autobiography-manifesto Mein Kampf has been strictly banned in Germany since the end of World War II, but a proposal to reprint it has the endorsement of the country's leading Jewish organization, among other groups, reports the Independent. "A historically critical edition needs to be prepared today to prevent neo-Nazis profiting from it," said the head of the Central Council of Jews. But politicians and many academics oppose the effort. More»

Nazi war crimes suspect to hear charges at Munich jail

(NEWSER) - Accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk arrived today in Germany and was taken from Munich airport directly to prison, AP reports. German authorities have charged the retired Cleveland auto worker with being an accessory to the murder of some 29,000 civilians in Nazi-occupied Poland. His deportation from the US sets the stage for what is likely to be the last trial for German war crimes during World War II. Demjanjuk, 89, had fought deportation, arguing he was too frail to be moved. More»

Appeals court will consider family's claims that Demjanjuk is too frail to travel

(NEWSER) - Accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk will stay in the US for at least a while longer after a federal appeals court granted him a last-minute stay of deportation, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Six US immigration agents removed Demjanjuk from his home in suburban Cleveland today and drove him away before receiving news of the court order. It's unclear whether the 89-year-old will return home in the interim. More»