Passengers in disbelief as recording of Hitler speech plays over speaker system on Austrian train

A recording of an Adolf Hitler speech was played over the speaker system of a train travelling to Vienna.

David Stoegmueller, a Green Party MP who was on board the Austrian Federal Railways  (ÖBB) train at the time, said that “We heard two episodes. First there was 30 seconds of a Hitler speech, and then I heard ‘Sieg Heil’.”

According to Mr Stoegmuller, a Holocaust survivor was also a passenger at the time, and the elderly lady began “crying” in reaction to the recording.

Austrian Federal Railways were keen to “distance themselves” from the incident and announced: “We can currently assume that the announcements were made by people directly on the train via intercoms. We have reported the matter to the police.”

The perpetrators are yet to be found. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism in Austria, which have reached their highest number in decades, according to recent research.