Word: waxworks
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...Three minutes after the opening of the new Madame Tussauds in Berlin, Frank L., who had been second in the line to enter the waxwork museum, stormed past security and toward an exhibit that had aroused controversy during the weeks prior to the opening: a wax figure of Adolf Hitler, depicting the dictator as a broken man, sitting behind his desk during his last days in the "Führerbunker." The attacker shouted "No more War!" several times, while tackling the figure, and managed to yank off its head before being seized by the police...
...Many Berliner's had expressed similar concerns after Madame Tussauds had announced plans to feature Hitler in its waxwork collection. The museum tried to mollify critics by banning visitors from taking pictures of the exhibit, and by depicting Hitler as the broken, deranged figure in his final days as portrayed by German actor Bruno Ganz in the 2004 movie Downfall. Still, many voices, such as Johannes Tuchel, head of the German Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin, rejected the presence of a Hitler waxwork, and attacked Madame Tussauds' decision to restore it on show "as soon as possible", saying the museum...
...arrival of a Hitler waxwork unleashed such passion in Berlin? After all, a waxen representation of the dictator has been on display in the German city of Hamburg for 60 years, without causing any serious disruptions. Some argue that it is the proximity to the site from which Hitler actually directed the Nazi terror that makes the issue particularly sensitive. But the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung has a different theory: "Berlin cherishes a culture of civil disobedience", the newspaper wrote. Other commentators pointed out that Frank L. "of course" lived in Kreuzberg, a Berlin district known for its squatter...
...that is. On Tuesday, in a startling reversal of its public relations strategy, Downing Street rushed to quash rumors that Brown might be less of a dummy than his predecessor, the consummate orator Tony Blair. A rash of media reports had claimed that Madame Tussaud's, the famous London waxworks exhibition with offshoots in the U.S., continental Europe and China, had delayed commissioning a figure of Brown pending the outcome of the parliamentary election he must hold by June 2010. Blair's waxwork, meanwhile, remains on show, sharing a podium with President Bush. Stung by the rumored snub, Downing Street...
...confusion? In February, Tussaud's PR Manager Ben Lovett had told reporters that, in line with standard procedures, a Brown waxwork wouldn't be commissioned until after elections. (Brown inherited the job between elections, after Blair resigned.) A subsequent "significant swell of public support" for Brown triggered the request to Downing Street, says Lovett. That's a rare mismatch between Tussaud's own soundings and the wider world view, because opinion polls reflect no such swell - Labour, under Brown, has actually lost ground to the Tories...