Vienna honors deserters from Hitler's army
Austria's president has apologized for his country's treatment of soldiers who deserted Hitler's army during World War II as traitors. He spoke on Friday while unveiling a memorial honoring those who had fled military duty rather than serve under the Nazi regime.
President Heinz Fischer said that labeling the Austrian deserters that way for decades after the conflict is "something for which one has to apologize and shame himself." The grey stone monument, just steps from the presidential offices, is the first of its kind in the Austrian capital. A large "X'' on its surface stands for the tens of thousands of deserters who were executed under Hitler.
