25-year-old Madison Cawthorn is the Republican US congressional candidate from North Carolina. He is also, evidently, a huge fan of Adolf Hitler. So much so that he went on a pilgrimage to his vacation property in Bavaria, Germany.
In 2017, Cawthorn posted photos from a trip he took to the Eagle’s Nest, the Nazi retreat in Germany where Hitler and other members of the Third Reich liked to spend their down time, along with the caption:
The vacation house of the Führer. Seeing the Eagles Nest has been on my bucket list for awhile, it did not disappoint. Strange to hear so many laughs and share such a good time with my brother where only 79 years ago a supreme evil shared laughs and good times with his compatriots.
The photos were first discovered by Jezebel and published in a damning report accusing Cawthorn of “following the playbook of other, more successful far-right Republicans in recent years, attempting to rebrand his extreme views … as squarely in the mainstream of the Republican Party.”
While some media outlets reported that Cawthorn had since removed the photos from Instagram, as of today they still appear up on his page.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
According to Jezebel, in addition to calling Hitler “Führer,” which is considered a term of respect, Cawthorn also named his real estate company SPQR, a term from the ancient Roman Republic that has been appropriated by white nationalists, and in his home he has the Betsy Ross flag, which has also been adopted by far-right extremists.
Rolling Stone reports that the Betsy Ross flag has “been associated with the Patriot Movement, an anti-government, extremist right-wing movement that encompasses smaller fringe movements such as the militia movement, the sovereign citizen movement, and the tax protest movement.”
Cawthorn addressed the backlash surrounding the Eagle’s Nest photos on Facebook yesterday, saying, “When I visited the Eagle’s Nest this was the history I had in mind. It was a surreal experience to be remembering their joy in a place where the Nazi regime had plotted unspeakable acts of evil.”
A recent poll conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee shows Cawthorn leading his Democratic opponent Moe Davis by five percentage points.
Related: Gay guys are thirsting over GOP newcomer Madison Cawthorn… but should they be?
Mister P
These extremists openly celebrate Hitler and the Nazis. Yet they make it seem as if providing basic health care is a radical idea.
Cam
Media is partially at fault for continuing to act like racist dog whistles are just accidents.
The guy is promoting multiple white supremacist symbols and talking points. But they’ll keep acting like each one is just another time he “Mispoke” or “Didn’t understand”.
Ridiculous, other than having a swastika tatoo, this guy has checked off all the boxes.
dhmonarch89
when he first came out- I told people he could be just another jerk, just one in a wheel chair- but that and his looks got me swatted down- well….I was right again.
Chrisk
Nothing wrong with visiting the site. I’d love to do it myself. Hitler is a big part of world history. However, if you go there with a sense of admiration that’s a sign of a serious problem.
I don’t think he really cares about anything but himself. Just comes as a complete douche.
TMBisAOK
NOTHING wrong with it?! REALLY!? Especially when you add his referral to Hitler affectionately and speaks of the whole experience that way!? And then surrounds himself with white supremacist symbolism?! GIVE ME A BREAK!
Kangol2
What an ahistorical moron Cawthorn is. In 1939, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis targeted people with physical or mental disabilities to be killed under the infamous T-4 euthanasia program. As a result, 200,000+ disabled people were sent to gas chambers, or special rooms in which they were given lethal doses of drugs or starved to death, in Germany and Austria officially from 1940 through 1941, and then secretly until 1945. (To its credit, the Roman Catholic Church did have leaders who spoke out against Hitler on this inhumane policy.)
The T-4 program became the template for the Nazi slaughter of Jewish people, Roma, and others in gas chambers. Did Cawthorn not know this? Do the people who are eager to vote for him? That anyone, but especially a disabled person, could celebrate visiting the former home of one of the most racist, murderous dictators in the history of the world boggles the mind, but then Cawthorn is a Republican and appears to have a number of screws loose, so I guess I should not be surprised.
Cam
::Applause::
But of course, in his delusional mind he would think “Oh, they wouldn’t do that to me”. The same way women, LGBTQ people, or racial minorities who support Republicans think “Oh, they don’t mean ME” when the party gets racist or bigoted.
nm4047
I’d be interested if you could reference (with a date) the Catholic spoke out. Pius 12 was called Hitlers pope for a reason. Only towards the end did the catholic church ‘spoke out’
Kangol2
@nm4047, in 1941, during World War II, Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen, a hereditary aristocrat (the Duke of Galen) and the Bishop of Münster, gave three famous sermons, against the Nazi policy of euthanasia, Nazi attacks on the Catholic Church and its facilities, and the murderous brutality of the SS. The sermons were so famous they spurred internal resistance to Nazi euthanasia, leading Hitler to publicly cease the T-4 program and conduct it in secret. Bishop Galen’s critique of Nazism came from the right, not the left; he despised liberalism and the Weimar Republic, socialism, and democratic values, but felt that the Nazis had overstepped the bounds of conservatism, which should have surprised no one, since conservatives actively aided Hitler’s rise to power, also helping to destroy the Weimar Republic and Germany democracy. Galen did criticize Nazi racism in the abstract, but did not actively condemn the persecution of Jewish people.
Other Catholic bishops who openly opposed the Nazi regime include Bishop Konrad von Preysing, also an aristocrat by birth, who was Bishop of Berlin. Preysing actively worked with the anti-Nazi resistance, and even met with high level officials who sought to overthrow Hitler. He ran an aid bureau that not only tried to save the lives of Catholics and other Christians imprisoned by the Nazis, but also provided comfort and aid to Jewish people persecuted by the Nazi regime. Because of his high position, like that of Galen, Hitler did not openly attack him.
Lastly, German Catholic bishops, including Galen and Preysing, famously drafted the Papal encyclical “With Burning Care,” for Pope Pius XI, which denounced racism and attacks on the Catholic Church and Christianity, in 1937. It was distributed in March 1937, and did not, however, mention the Nazi regime or Hitler by name. Its aim was to salvage the Concordat, which actually exists, between the Vatican and the German State, protecting the Catholic Church in Germany and keeping clergy out of politics. Nevertheless, the encyclical spurred the Nazis in Germany to harass, attack and in many cases jail Catholic clergy.
bgeorge59
Yet another republican trumpist who needs to go away. He gets attention because he’s nice looking>
brian6767
He’s already got my donation! #TRUMP2020
Michael007
Good job, Brian. Trump2020! Visiting the Eagle’s Nest is no big deal. I have been there several times during my vacations to the Bavarian region. From a construction viewpoint, it is a fantastic sight to behold. Things is . . . Hitler hated it. It was given to him as a birthday gift by his henchman Martin Boreman. Hitler hated heights and this building is WAY up in the air! Hitler only visited it 3 or 4 times. It was NOT a Hitler “shrine” nor a popular Nazi-lover’s hangout. This story is an overblown attempt to smear this guy. I really don’t know much about his politics but this story makes it look like he was making a pilgrimage to a place that is revered by Nazi lovers. It is NOT! It’s merely a historical sight.
DK
Has Tangerine Hitler tweeted any White Power videos today?
James
GET LOST TROLL.
CurtisIsTheOne
Maybe Michael 007 and Brian6767 can have their honeymoon at The Eagle’s Nest.
Cam
Thanks for making it obvious that people who like Hitler also support Trump.
brian6767
@Cam and thanks for making it obvious that people who support Biden are pedophiles! {:-p)
Larry
I hope no one is surprised?
xflare
Cawthorn addressed the backlash surrounding the Eagle’s Nest photos on Facebook yesterday, saying, “When I visited the Eagle’s Nest this was the history I had in mind. It was a surreal experience to be remembering their joy in a place where the Nazi regime had plotted unspeakable acts of evil.”
Lets fast forward 70 years:
“When I visited Mar-a-lago this was the history I had in Mind, It was a surreal experience to be remembering their joy in a place where the GOP regime had plotted unspeakable acts of evil”
Andy.R
This was the perfect comment!
Scout
I’ve also been to the Eagle’s Nest. Hitler spared no expense in its construction. Walkways and terraces circle the main building with amazing views of the Bavarian Alps. It’s a spectacular view, and his guards used it to patrol for invaders. I’d definitely recommend going there if you’re in that part of Europe. However, it’s not a place to celebrate and be irreverent, but to take in its historical significance just as one would by visiting Dachau or Auschwitz.
Michael007
Nice reply but you got one thing wrong. You said, “Hitler spared no expense in its construction.” Hitler had nothing to do with it. His associate Martin Boreman had it built as a birthday gift. Hitler hated the place because he didn’t like the claustrophobic feeling he had while in the elevator to the top, plus he hated heights. Many Italian laborers who were forced to work on it, lost their lives doing the road construction work up the steep incline. In fact, the road is SO steep that special buses were built that lean to one side to help keep them on the road while hauling tourists to the top. You were right about the walkways and the terrace out back. Surprisingly, it is a smallish building. Only one large living/meeting room with the famous fireplace seen in the popular picture of Hitler and Eva Braun standing in front of it, a kitchen, and one extra room that was used as an office or could be a bedroom if needed. Hitler never needed it and never spent the night there. It was a popular target for allied bombers but they were never able to hit it. Eventually, when Berchtesgaden was taken over by the 100th Division from Louisville, KY, it was used ever so briefly as a radio communication center for the war efforts. Hitler’s home, the Berghof, down below this spot on an alpine hillside was blown to smitherenes by the British and US Air Forces. They left the Platterhof Hotel, that Hitler housed his visitors, standing on the hill above his house. Not long after the war, the US converted it to a recreation center for US soldiers stationed in Germany. I stayed in it many times while in the Army and in later years taking my family there for vacation. Today, that building is gone and in its place is a black granite very UGLY modern hotel. The whole area looks nothing like it did during WWII nor during the post war decades. The citizens of Berchtesgaden have tried to totally erase any memories of Hitler’s days of living in that area.
Dymension
I totally hate the fact that the Betsy Ross flag now has to be looked at as a symbol of hate just because some numbskulls decided to use it to represent them. It’s not Betsy Ross’ fault. Also, the SPQR was simply the Roman government which is the model for our own country.
barryaksarben
CAM is right so many people are delusional. So many families of gay children feel this way about homosexuality. Their child thou gay is the exception and all the other gay people are sick and twisted. It is blinders of the worst kind. They know and love their children or brother or sister so dont look at them the same way they look at all other gay people. As for this gop nazi ken doll he is a typical lying gop pos. HE has fudged so much of his story. BEFORE his accident he already knew he wasnt going to the naval academy. He like Trump likes to embellish, exaggerate and outright lie. I myself would waste a yank on him. NO ONE is that pretty
SPEEDOSWIMMER
Evil incarnate.
johnnymcmxxx
He will win because he has sympathy on his side because of his paralysis, he is pretty & he lives in a racist homophobic state. It’s the disgusting truth of the radical republican right. These are home grown tyrannical terrorists. Beware.
Gay Thomas
The white nationalist Trumptrash don’t even try to hide it anymore. How long before we see pictures of him rolling with the Tiki torches saying “the Jews will not replace us”?
Norm
Him and his brother. Do I smell incest?
amanwithanedge
I hate nazis and especially a gay nazi. sicko.
crdelavega89104
So he went to Bertesgaden I did too 30 years ago it’s history and better it be repeated
JPB
A pretty face hiding an evil mind.
Tombear
He is nothing more than a good looking bottom boy looking for a place so his male friends can pull a train on him. He is being discreet!
CurtisIsTheOne
No need for bottom shaming
Desiderata
Funny how the left can cavort with communists and that’s not a problem, yet communism has killed 100M+ people.
Why do so many on the left wear Che guera images, a man that slaughtered unarmed civilians, and was a racist homophobe. The regime that Che Guevara co-founded is the only one in modern history in the Western Hemisphere to have herded gays into forced labor camps.
yup5hioop
Trump approves of China rn who are currently putting Muslims in camps… not hearing much pushback from the right
ElPillo
I don’t care about GOP politics, but this article is petty and misleading. This behavior is an easy way to get dismissed when discussing serious issues (which given Queerty’s track record seldom happens). This is a BS story. The site is a hugely popular tourist site. There is a spectacular view and Hitler’s vacation house was destroyed long ago. What is there is a restaurant on what was a visitor’s house built so no one enter his private space. He would see people there and go away. The building is also a clear symbol of Allied victory as it was occupied and held by our troops for a long time. Everyone and their mother visits that place.
ThinkPIease
Michael007, You are wasting your time trying to explain things to simple, closed-minded, low-IQ liberals. They cannot have a conversation about anything because they can only scream back at you, “Trump is a racist” or “All Republicans hate gays.”
Liberals want every city in America to be just like Portland or Chicago. Once the middle working class is gone, then they think they will be happy.
Kangol2
The GOP is destroying the “middle class” yet again, so what are you braying about? It happens every time we have a GOP president; the last two, including this current imbecile traitor Don the Con, have also blown up the US economy. Maybe crack a history or economics book once in a while, and THINK, please!
ThinkPIease
One more thing. Liberals love to scream, “Russian bots are on Facebook with fake advertisements to help Trump.” Because they have such a low IQ, they think the average American can be persuaded to vote for a candidate from one social media post.
john.k
I’m no fan of far right-wingers of any kind but this seems to me to be a manufactured controversy. Lots of people visit the Eagle’s Nest. It’s an interesting building and the views are spectacular. When I visited it in the 1980s there was a large group of American WWII veterans also visiting it. I read somewhere that Hitler only went to it 5 times despite it having been built as a birthday present for him at great cost. When Andre Francois-Poncet was taking his leave as French ambassador to Germany in October 1938 he was received by Hitler in the Eagle’s Nest. The ambassador later wrote “was this edifice the work of a normal mind or of one tormented by megalomania and haunted by visions of domination and solitude?”
Cam
Lots of people don’t have it on their bucket list, while surrounded by white supremacist imagery and referring to Hitler affectionately.
john.k
But does he refer to Hitler affectionately Cam? In the Twitter post he refers to him as ” a supreme evil”.
o.codone
Oh look, it’s Cam, the right wing troll posting under his original name instead of one of the 10 others he has, half of which have been deleted by the editors. Cam’s objective is to interject extremist right wing ideology while catfishing as a progressive. Except, we’re on to you Cam.
Robert Bradley
I’m with John.k…… this story is just creating controversy. Me, my husband and family visited Eagles Nest a couple years ago. No, we did not pay homage. We paid a few bucks to see another tourist trap.. nothing more…nothing less. If this was Hitlers idea of vacation…. it was very underwhelming. I’ll stick with my condo in the sun and surf. Jeeze….people…not everything is really worth a shit stir!
nm4047
I guess Cawthorn didn’t do his full research, he would have been one of the target group to be part of the experiments of the third reich.
TruthBeKnown
White. Male. Christian. Handsome. Conservative. Young. Beautiful fiancee. Add a disability for a dash of sympathy. What do you get? PRIVILEGE. PRIVILEGE. PRIVILEGE.