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World News

German church discovers bell cast with swastika

by Eno Adeogun

Cast in 1943, the bell in St Jacob's church also praises the Nazi regime with "everything for the fatherland - Adolf Hitler" embossed above the emblem of the German Nazi party.

Reports of the bell in the 700-person town of Herxheim am Berg has stirred controversy with prominent members saying the bell should be protected, while others want it removed.

Wikipedia

Sigrid Peters, the 73 year old church organist, told a local newspaper that the "bell should be detached" because it's not right that christenings and marriages are marked by ringing a bell celebrating the far-right party.

However, the mayor and pastor of the Church want the bell to be protected.

Mayor Ronald Becker told The Local that trying to remove the inscription could alter the sound and would cost upward of £40,000. Although he wants to avoid turning it into a 'cult' site for right-wing extremists and Nazi sympathisers and opposes proposals for a plaque to be placed in the church to inform visitors of the existence of the bell.

There are other reasons people want the bell preserved.

Bell expert Birgit Müller argued that it should be protected under historic conservation laws - saying there are no other known examples - according to the Daily Mail.

The bell in the 1,000 year old protestant church is actually the property of the local government. It will be up to them to decide the bell's fate.

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