Dining With Hitler In Asia: Hitler-themed Bars & Restaurants

Adolf Hitler? In most western countries he is viewed as history’s most evil man, and almost all are aware of the horrific genocide he was responsible for, with many having had family fight and/or die in the war against Nazi Germany.

However, in Asia, Hitler is a far more distant figure. This distance might be an explanation for the bizarre case of Hitler restaurants and bars that can be found throughout Asia.

Here are some photos of these strange Hitler-themed establishments:

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In 2006, the restaurant Hitler’s Cross opened in Mumbai, India:

From the Associated Press:

When Hitler’s Cross restaurant opened in a Mumbai suburb Sunday, local politicians and movie industry types were on hand to celebrate beneath the posters of the Nazi leader and swastikas.

“It’s really made people very upset that a person responsible for the massacre of six million Jews can be glorified,” Elijah Jacob, one of the Jewish community’s leaders, said on Wednesday.

But owner Puneet Sablok has refused to back down. Apart from Mumbai’s 4,500 Jews, there has been little controversy in India, where Holocaust awareness is limited, Adolf Hitler is regarded as just another historical figure and swastikas are an ancient Hindu symbol, displayed all over to bring luck. There are just 5,500 Jews in all of India.

Soon after the article was published the restaurant’s owner backed down and changed the name of the restaurant.

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This Hitler Bar, which was located in Busan, South Korea, caused a lot of anger in the foreign community.

The website Pusanweb interviewed the owner of the bar, who said the following:

I wanted to design a beer bar with something shocking that would attract the young generation. Beer got me thinking about Germany (the home of beer) which made me think of Hitler.
[…]
….he is no different than Alexander the Great or Gengis Khan. They were all conquerors who killed many people and they are all ‘big men’ in the sense of their notoriety living on long after they died.

The owner eventually changed the name of his bar to Ditler’ and then to ‘Ceasar’.

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Modern Bar Hitler (South Korea), photographed by Lynxsquared:

Inside Modern Bar Hitler:

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A charming sign for a Hitler bar in Korea, photographed by Oronzo:

A Korean Hitler bar in Daejong South Korea, captured by photographer Modrob:

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Another Hitler Bar in Busan, South Korea (From the The Gates of the Minjok, an article by Michael Hurt about the nazi roots of modern Korean national identity) :

From the same article:

The picture I should have taken was of another Hitler bar, this one way down on the coast in Sunchon, and which I ran across in 1994 – doesn’t exist because I was simply in too much shock at the time to have the foresight to take a picture. I tend to think, though, that since many trends in the big city get followed by small towns – and not the other way around – I tend to think that there were more Hitler bars peppered across the peninsula. And given that many other expats have told me stories of “their” Hitler bar from their own cities, I’m actually pretty sure of this.

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Inside of a Hitler Bar in Busan, South Korea (from Flickr photographer Cfarivar)

A flier for the same Hitler bar:

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A Japanese tempura restaurant with a hitler-ish mascot (from Cityskip):

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A LOL-tastic Hitler costume, which can be found on the shelves of party stores across Japan:

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