Berlin, September 17 (RHC)-- Plans to rebuild a church with ties to Hitler and the Nazi party's origins in Germany have sparked a national row. The state-run BBC reports that the announcement to fully reconstruct the Garrison Church, or Garnisonkirche in Potsdam, which is one of the most significant churches of the German history, has created a country-wide debate.
The Garrison Church is where Adolf Hitler, the most notorious German political party leader, bowed to the country's then president, Paul von Hindenburg, in March 1933.
The action made Hitler accepted by Germany's upper class and led to the Enabling Act of 1933, which gave Hitler plenary powers and the power to enact laws without the involvement of the German parliament, the Reichstag. Many believe this was the beginning the Third Reich.
"This is one of the most extraordinary church buildings from the baroque era, and it is at the same time the most controversial place. We are confronted with the ambiguities of German history here much more directly than in any other place in the country," said Professor Dr. Wolfgang Huber, president of the committee in charge of the reconstruction.
Many Germans believe a place where such an infamous event took place should never be rebuilt. "For me, this church is a symbol of evil," said a Potsdam local.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is amongst those in favor of rebuilding the church. Britain's Royal Air Force partially destroyed the church in 1945. German composer Johann Sebastian Bach played the church's organ and Prussian King Frederick the Great was buried there.
