Arrest made after fire at Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat

What the report says

Police in Bavaria say they detained a suspect after a fire broke out at Adolf Hitler’s former Alpine retreat, the Kehlsteinhaus, better known as the Eagle’s Nest, in southern Germany. According to BBC World News, the alarm was raised in Traunstein at 21:15 local time on Friday, and firefighters arrived to find the building heavily ablaze.

Around 200 emergency personnel were deployed, but difficult mountain access slowed efforts to bring the blaze under control. The fire was still burning early on Saturday, and authorities said there were no reports of injuries. A criminal investigation is under way to determine whether the detained person is linked to the incident.

The Eagle’s Nest, above the town of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, was completed in 1938 and used by Hitler as a part-time seat of government. The BBC notes that he also met military commanders there during planning for the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. After World War Two, the site survived destruction and later became a tourist attraction and mountain inn.

The incident matters because the building is both a historic site and a symbol associated with Nazi rule. The article also notes that the retreat has been described on its official website as a reminder of the brutality of the Nazi dictatorship.