Austrian railway probes broadcast of apparent Hitler salutes, speeches on train

VIENNA — Austrian rail operator OeBB said Monday that it has filed complaints against two people after they had allegedly manipulated the trains’ loudspeaker announcements to play what appeared to be Hitler salutes and speeches.

The incident comes after two trains had been manipulated last week to broadcast a “nonsensical, confusing mix” of children’s songs and old, flawed announcements, OeBB spokesman Bernhard Rieder told AFP.

The latest incident on Sunday, which provoked public outcry, allegedly included Hitler salutes and what appeared to be historic recordings of speeches by Adolf Hitler.

All three incidents occurred when OeBB trains passed through the same section between the eastern Austrian city of St. Poelten and its capital Vienna, Rieder added.

Late Sunday, the two suspects were reported to Austrian police, who identified them through analyzing video footage from their trains’ surveillance cameras.

The OeBB declined to further identify the suspects, but confirmed the two are “not OeBB employees.”

???????? Austrian authorities have launched an investigation after a speech by Adolf Hitler, including shouts of 'Sieg heil', was played over intercom on a train journey to Vienna.

Two suspects, believed to have accessed the intercom with a key, have been tracked down. pic.twitter.com/Uudp6HDlIj

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— euronews (@euronews) May 16, 2023

The suspects are accused of allegedly obtaining a generic key common throughout Europe to gain access to the train’s intercom station to play back the audio recordings, Rieder said.

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria.

Austria — which the Nazis “annexed” into the Third Reich in 1938 — has some of the world’s strictest laws against Holocaust denial and pro-Nazi activities.

Despite this, offenses involving expressions of pro-Nazi sentiment are not uncommon.