Polish fire brigade rebel against ‘Heil Hitler’ commander

WARSAW - A Polish fire brigade has rebelled against its commander after an alleged campaign of humiliation and abuse of power in which they were forced by him to greet each other with a “Heil Hitler” every morning.

The angry firemen, from a station in the eastern city of Augustow in Poland, reportedly made a plea to the regional command to have him removed.

According to the Telegraph, the firemen at the station listed 27 allegations of abuse of power in a letter to regional headquarters, which also included the commander using emergency phones to order food, and permitting friends to stay at the fire station bed room. Most of the abuses were reportedly carried out during working hours.

“Friends of the commander were allowed to stay, and firemen were mobilised as if it were a hotel. We had to carry luggage and bring food and drinks for the guests,” the firemen claimed in their letter.is alleged insistence of firefighters using “Heil Hitler” instead of the traditional “good day” was resented in particular, given Poland’s suffering during the Nazi occupation, the paper said.

The firemen ended the letter stating that they had to prevent their commander from further damaging the reputation of the brigade.

The paper quoted one of the firefighters as saying they should not be blamed for the scandal.

“We just want to have a normal life and a normal commander: one who will be demanding but in a civilised manner. The behaviour of the commander has brought shame on the fire brigade, the town and the region,” he added. (ANI)