Austrian police charge 2 men after Hitler speech plays on public train's loudspeakers

Austrian authorities are searching for two men suspected of blaring a recording of Hitler’s voice and a series of “Heil Hitler” and “Sieg Heil” chants on a public train for about 20 minutes on Sunday night.

Vienna’s chief rabbi was on the train and told CNN that the recording started with “strange music, snippets of conversation and laughter which suddenly turned into a Hitler speech played louder and louder.”

The rabbi, Schlomo Hofmeister, tweeted that he was disturbed at how long it took for the train’s conductors to shut off the recordings.

Irgendwelche Nazi „Lausbuben“ haben sich scheinbar in das Lautsprechersystem des Zuges reingehackt und in einem Zeitrahmen von ca. 20 Minuten, ganz ungestört und ungeniert, immer wieder das Programm gestaltet.

— Schlomo Hofmeister (@RabbiHofmeister) May 15, 2023

Police said on Monday that the men were not employees of the ÖBB, Austria’s federal train service, but that they infiltrated the intercom system via a key that all employees have. Officials believe the suspects played other sounds — a “nonsensical, confusing mix” of childrens’ songs — on other trains around Vienna last week.

The two have been charged

The two suspects have been charged by Austrian authorities. Austria, which was the birthplace of Adolf Hitler, has strict laws against pro-Nazi statements and Holocaust denial.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted on Tuesday that at least one Holocaust survivor was on the train and “one can only imagine how they felt.”

Imagine being a Jewish passenger on this train in Austria, where 65,000 Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and hearing Hitler's tirades over the loudspeaker. At least 1 Holocaust survivor was on board – one can only imagine how they felt. We appreciate the swift investigation. https://t.co/Dx6QgPxcIs

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) May 17, 2023

Journalist Colette Schmidt, who was also on the train, called the incident “very scary.”

“No conductor, no one came, there was no one to see. We were alone with this madness. ‘Who is driving this train now?’ I asked myself,” Schmidt, who works for the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, told CNN.