A German neo-Nazi fell to his death on September 29 while climbing what was known as Adolf Hitler’s “favorite mountain”. Andreas Münzhuber, a senior member of the Bavarian faction of the neo-Nazi group The Third Way, was part of the climb. According to reports from German news outlets, the group of 30 people slipped on a wet root and fell 196 feet to the rocky terrain below.
Friends of Andreas Münzhuber, along with two other climbers on the 1,972-metre-high mountain, immediately called emergency services after the fall. However, he was declared dead at the scene. According to the German publication Merkur, an emergency rescue helicopter was dispatched and a medical doctor was flown to the scene, but Münzhuber was already dead.
Hitler was very fond of the Untersberg Mountains and chose the area to build his Eagle’s Nest retreat nearby, the Telegraph reports. The mountain has become a pilgrimage site for fascist groups over the years. In 2017, a group was seen giving Nazi salutes and shouting “Sieg Heil” at passersby. The next morning, the owners of the guest house where the group stayed discovered beer mats decorated with swastikas.
Andreas Münzhuber was treasurer and assessor of the regional federation of the small right-wing extremist party known as The Third Way. He is said to have left behind a partner and a child born in June.
The Prisoner Aid Friends Circle, a group that supports imprisoned neo-Nazis along with other right-wing groups, said, “His death has deeply affected us all. I ask you to support a little girl who never knew her father, according to the NY Post.
According to German news reports, right-wing extremist groups are now raising donations to support Munzhuber’s wife and child and to erect a memorial stone at the site of his death. A tribute on a fundraising page seeking donations for his funeral said, “Munzi, as everyone called him, was only 37 and still had many plans in life. His death took us all very hard. Has influenced.” He added, “But the biggest difference has come to the fore at the dinner table at home. His wife now has to raise their daughter alone.”
“She is not yet four months old and was the sunshine of Munzi’s life. She is the personification of Munzi. She will live on in his and our hearts.” By Friday afternoon, nearly £10,000 (about Rs 11 lakh) had been donated to the page.
According to German news outlet T-Online, Andreas Münzhuber was described as a “senior board member” of the neo-Nazi group Der III Weg (The Third Way). The Third Way (Der Dritt Weg) was founded in the south-western city of Heidelberg in September 2013 as a branch of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD).
