Wisconsin officials seek to block Hitler memorial

MILWAUKEE, Wis, June 15 (Reuters) A former Nazi officer living on a Wisconsin farm has built a memorial to Adolf Hitler in his bunker-like tractor storage shed, much to the chagrin of local officials.

A court order was being sought to stop Ted Junker, 87, from opening to visitors a 30- by 50-foot (9- by 15-metre) concrete building that he has spent 200,000 dollars outfitting with photos of Hitler, a swastika-emblazoned flag and other items.

Five years ago, officials denied Junker's request to create a more elaborate Hitler memorial and information center.

Instead, he got a permit to build the tractor storage shed on his farm in southeastern Wisconsin, which now houses the memorial.

''With the attention that is drawn to this, I am concerned about people's safety,'' said Michael Cotter, Walworth County's director of land use and resource management, who is seeking the injunction.

''This is a very small area half a mile (km) down a narrow dirt lane with not a lot of places to move. And, if people don't agree with each other and you put them in a small, confined area ... .'' Junker, who came to the United States in 1955 and worked as a janitor in Chicago before buying his farm, has told local media that he believes Hitler was a great leader who is misunderstood. He said he joined the Nazi SS in 1940 and served on the Russian front in World War Two.

No one answered the telephone listed for Junker.

''When people such as Junker say that no one was gassed in the Nazi concentration camps, they are completely overlooking the facts. It's an attempt to try and disprove history,'' said Kathy Heilbronner of Milwaukee's Jewish Council for Community Relations.

''He's a mixed-up old man, and he's hellbent to do what he is doing,'' said Loren Waite from the nearby town of Sugar Creek. ''I fear for what kind of element this might draw to our area, and I know that we are making preparations for having a problem on our hands.'' REUTERS DH RAI0421