German hotel in trouble over Nazi-era bunker

BERLIN (Reuters) - A hotel in southern Germany which allowed guests to see a swastika-covered bunker from World War Two in its cellar could lose its restaurant and alcohol licence and face criminal charges, a state finance ministry said.

The bunker, which was once the headquarters of Adolf Hitler's personal security staff, has been open to visitors via an advertised passageway at the hotel, located in the state of Bavaria near the Austrian border.

Critics say the bunker, located in Hitler's favourite vacation spot, Obersalzberg, has become a shrine to neo-Nazis who come to see Nazi propaganda and anti-Semitic statements scrawled and carved on its walls.

"There should be no hushing up, but most importantly, no hidden or open glorification of the Nazi regime," Bavarian Finance Minister Kurt Faltlhauser said in a statement sent to Reuters on Monday.

The Bavarian state Finance Ministry said it had recommended that the state's prosecutor file criminal charges. It also said the mayor was investigating whether the hotel's restaurant and alcohol licence could be withdrawn.

No one at the hotel 'Zum Tuerken' was immediately available for comment.