Austrian writers demand: Drop provincial anthems composed by Nazis

Several regions have been found to have anthems composed by Nazis, but so far none have been changed.

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Austrian authors have demanded that a region change its anthem after its composer was revealed to be an active Nazi, rekindling a row that now involves more than half its provinces, AFP reported.

The anthems were all written by composers or writers who actively supported the Nazi regime, according to the group representing Austrian writers.

In an open letter sent on Wednesday, it said the composer of Burgenland's anthem, written in 1936, was a Nazi party member.

The writers said "it would be a great, exemplary signal" if a new anthem could be written that "reflects the spirit and work of today's generations and artists who were born and grew up in Burgenland."

Historian Herbert Brettl said the lyrics were not problematic, just its composer's association with the Nazi regime.

The anthems of Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Salzburg provinces have also been found to be problematic, but so far none have been changed.

Austria is the birth country of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whose childhood home in the northwestern town of Braunau am Inn has attracted neo-Nazis and other extremists for years, with extremists making the trip to take a picture in front of the building.

The government took control of the building in December of 2016, after MPs approved an expropriation law specifically aimed at the property. Last month, Austria’s Interior Ministry announced that the building will be converted into a human rights training center for police officers.

Glorifying the Nazi era is a crime in Austria.

More than 65,000 of Austria's pre-war Jewish population of 200,000 were murdered in the Holocaust, in which some six million Jews perished.