Austrian train plays Hitler speeches and salutes ‘Sieg Heil’ over loudspeakers after being ‘hacked’ by pranksters
- One passenger said everyone on the train was “completely shocked.”
- The Austrian Railways say they have reported it to the police
Travelers on an intercity in Austria are “completely shocked” and “very upset” after a recording of a speech by Adolf Hitler was played on board.
Instead of the normal announcements, a crowd could also be heard shouting “Heil Hitler” and “Sieg Heil” over the train’s loudspeaker system.
The operator said there had been several such incidents in recent days.
A passenger on the Bregenz-Vienna service said everyone on the train was “completely shocked.”
David Stoegmueller, a Green Party MP, said the Nazi German leader’s speech was played over the intercom shortly before the train, an OEBB Railjet 661, arrived in Vienna.
The Austrian Railways (OEBB) said there had been several such incidents in recent days
“We heard two episodes,” he said the BBC. “First there was a speech by Hitler for 30 seconds, and then I heard ‘Sieg Heil’.”
Mr Stoegmueller said train crews were unable to stop the recording and were unable to make their own announcements. “One crew member was very upset,” he added.
In a statement, Austrian Railways (OEBB) said: ‘We clearly distance ourselves from the contents.
“We can now assume that the announcements were made by people directly on the train via intercoms. We have reported it to the police.’
Reports have been filed against two people.
Mr Stoegmueller said he received an email from a man who was on a train with an old lady who was a concentration camp survivor. “She was crying,” he said.
He said another passenger commented that when other countries had technical problems, it was related to air conditioning failure.
“In Austria, Hitler is the technical problem,” he added.
Hitler was born in Austria and emigrated to Germany in 1913 as a young man.