Mick Hartley

What now for Austria, after the Amstetten horror?

Austria’s chancellor has vowed to restore the country’s international image with a £40 million ‘Birthplace of Hitler’ marketing campaign.

Alfred Gusenbauer said the promotional blitz would stress there was far more to Austria than simply locking people in a cellar.

Herr Gusenbauer said: “All the really big Nazis were Austrian, you know.

“Hitler was one of ours. Very famous. The whole war thing, the genocide, that’s him. He was evil, yes, but you knew where you stood with Hitler. Nothing hidden. It’s all in Mein Kampf.

“Yes, he was fond of his niece, but he didn’t lock her up or anything. In fact he gave her a key to his apartment so she could come and go as she pleased. That’s got to count for something.”