'Swastika' and 'Crematorium' mountains cause uproar in Sweden
A series of mountain crags called "Swastika" and "Himmler" have caused outrage in Sweden after a climber publicised the Nazi-inspired names given to the popular climbing area.
'Swastika' and 'Crematorium' mountains cause uproar in Sweden.Photo: REUTERS
Telegraph cp.uk.,,By Allan Hall in Berlin
Published: 4:24PM BST 13 Aug 2010
Following accepted climbing practice, the first person to tackle a route has the right to name it.
However, concerns have been raised after it was revealed that routes in the popular Järfälla climbing area outside Stockholm had been given names inspired by the Third Reich.
Between 1987 and 2001, climbers christened new routes "Kristallnacht", "Crematorium" and "Little Hitler".
Another was named "Zyklon B", after the cyanide gas the Nazis used to murder the Jews.
"I thought it rather unpleasant to climb through the 'Crematorium' or say that 'now I am going to do 'Kristallnacht'," Cordelia Hess, a climber, told Stockholm's Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
Christofer Urby, of the Swedish Climbing Association, said he was aware of the controversial names, but said his body could not authorise changes.
"It is the first climber who sets out a route and makes it available to others, who has the right to name it," he explained.
"It becomes a kind of footprint, but I personally think it is childish and disrespectful to put this type of name."
The routes on the range near the Swedish capital were named at various times and it is unclear whether the mountaineers who christened the rocky outcrops were politically-motivated.
Mikael Widerberg, a climber who named "Little Hitler" in 2001 dismissed the controversy, saying the names should be interpreted as an "internal thing between climbers", adding "there are other mountains around called worse things".
John Perwer, an official with the Swedish Forum for Living History, says that the names should be changed.
"A crag called 'Negro' near Karlstad was changed after a dark-skinned person said he was offended. To use loaded terms like that is simply rude," he said.
Another was named "Zyklon B", after the cyanide gas the Nazis used to murder the Jews.
"I thought it rather unpleasant to climb through the 'Crematorium' or say that 'now I am going to do 'Kristallnacht'," Cordelia Hess, a climber, told Stockholm's Dagens Nyheter newspaper.
Christofer Urby, of the Swedish Climbing Association, said he was aware of the controversial names, but said his body could not authorise changes.
"It is the first climber who sets out a route and makes it available to others, who has the right to name it," he explained.
"It becomes a kind of footprint, but I personally think it is childish and disrespectful to put this type of name."
The routes on the range near the Swedish capital were named at various times and it is unclear whether the mountaineers who christened the rocky outcrops were politically-motivated.
Mikael Widerberg, a climber who named "Little Hitler" in 2001 dismissed the controversy, saying the names should be interpreted as an "internal thing between climbers", adding "there are other mountains around called worse things".
John Perwer, an official with the Swedish Forum for Living History, says that the names should be changed.
"A crag called 'Negro' near Karlstad was changed after a dark-skinned person said he was offended. To use loaded terms like that is simply rude," he said.
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