http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14498419/?GT1=8404

India’s Hitler-themed eatery to get new name
Restaurant named for Nazi leader meant to attract attention, says owner

Updated: 10:58 a.m. ET Aug 24, 2006
BOMBAY, India - The owner of a restaurant named after Adolf Hitler said Thursday he will change its name because it angered so many people.

Puneet Sablok said he would remove Hitler’s name and the Nazi swastika from billboards and the menu. He had said the restaurant’s name — “Hitler’s Cross” — and symbols were only meant to attract attention.

Sablok made the decision after meeting with members of Bombay’s small Jewish community.

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“Once they told me how upset they were with the name, I decided to change it,” he said. “I don’t want to do business by hurting people.”

Sablok said he had not yet decided on a new name.

Hitler’s Cross opened five days ago and serves pizza, salad and pastries in Navi Mumbai, a suburb of Bombay, also known as Mumbai.

On Thursday, Bombay’s Jewish community welcomed Sablok’s decision to rename his restaurant.

“He realized he made a mistake and listened to reason,” said Elijah Jacob, a community leader. “Some people have wrong conceptions of history and he realized it was not appropriate.”

Bombay’s Jews had called the theme of the restaurant offensive and demanded a name change. There are about 5,500 Jews in India, with about 4,500 of them living in Bombay.

“I never wanted to hurt people’s feelings,” said Sablok.

Some Indians regard Hitler as just another historical figure and have little knowledge about the Holocaust, in which 6 million European Jews were systematically killed during World War II.

The swastika symbol, which was appropriated by the Nazis, was originally an ancient Hindu symbol and it is displayed all over India to bring luck.






Wait, how can anyone be so fucking stupid as to name his restaurant "Hitler's Cross," and claim that it was "just to grab attention"? How about I open up a hotel called, "Mahatma Gandhi was a dubm, skinny f***"? Really, I'm astonised. The swastik is fine, especially in India, as it's an Indian symbol to begin with; the "Hitler" thing, however, is inexcusably idiotic.

I couldn't care less if it was named after the Swasthika or Hitler, Puneet Sablok is a poontang for being the poontang that he is. I personally wood like to open a location named "Swasthika" with a big Swasthika etched on the front door
...but I'm broke

I bet they had some killer food there

Under fire, Indian eatery drops Hitler from name

What does The Da Vinci Code have to do with naming your restaurant "Hitler's Cross" just for the publicity?

Considering that the Swastika is a Hindu and Jain symbol I wouldn't be surprised if there are restaurants with "Swastik" in the name.

surely in India. but I have high doubts any such thing exists abroad.

There may have been some controversy over The Da Vinci Code in India, but there was a hell of a lot more of it in Europe and in the United States. I don't think, however, that films ought to be pulled because of "controversy"; this "Hitler's Cross" thing, though, was just retarded — the guy who thought it up was an imbecile.

I, too, am sure that there are places with the word "swastik" somewhere in their names, but that's not offensive; it's a cultural thing. This little "incident" was just a stupid stunt, effected in the hopes that people would hear of it, and visit the sad little restaurant that used it.

I think people are "free" to do so right now. It's not a matter of freedom; it's one of common sense and right-mindedness.