Indonesia’s Nazi Cafe to close amid pressure
In a follow up to a story last week, the restaurant that stirred controversy not only in Indonesia, but all across the globe for it’s Nazi theme, is closing, according to a CBS report.
Henry Mulyana’s Soldatenkaffee in the West Java city of Bandung gathered much international attention, as did comments by the cafe’s owner.
Mulyana said he’s been receiving hate mail from all corners of the globe. “A lot of people have called me expressing their anger. It’s like the whole world is pressing down on me,”he said at a press conference.
The Jakarta Globe reports that Mulyana said, “What I’m most worried about is I won’t be able to leave the country because my name would have been blacklisted because of the article. I may have a hard time applying for a visa,” he said. “That’s what I’m worried about. I’m not too concerned about what the implications will be here in Indonesia.”
Mulyana met with local authorities Monday, and tourism chief Herry M. Djauhari suggested that Mulyana change the name and theme of the cafe over fears that it might incite racism in the tourist destination.
“I must stress that this is art. This is not about ideology, extremism and racism. On our website, we have explained what this cafe is all about. We are not pro-Nazi, we are not politically affiliated with Nazi ideology,” he said.
“I also want to stress that I have never said, denounced or claimed that there was no evidence that the Nazis committed crimes against humanity toward the Jewish community. I want to say that I do believe the Holocaust happened.”
However, last week,the Indonesian news source reported that he claimed there was no proof the Nazis were responsible for the Holocaust, the genocide of about 6 million Jews during World War II.
Soldatenkaffee was opened in 2011.
Related story: Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University ‘deeply regrets’ mural with Adolf Hitler
[…] or Soldatenkaffee, the Nazi-themed restaurant in Indonesia’s West Java city of Bandung has reopened after a one year closure. Owner, Henry Mulyana, in an effort to broaden the theme of the restaurant, he has added some […]