Ted Junker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (November 2006)

Ted Junker (born 1919) is a retired farmer who generated publicity and controversy when he announced plans to open a memorial to Adolf Hitler in Walworth County, Wisconsin, near Millard, Wisconsin.

Junker had planned to hold a grand opening for the shrine on June 25, 2006. Officials of Walworth County persuaded him to cancel those plans, citing threats of retaliation, the lack of parking at the site, and Junker's lack of necessary permits, according to an Associated Press report.

Junker's plans were first reported in a story by Donna Lenz Wright published in The Walworth County Week on June 11, 2006. http://www.theweekextra.com/news/hitler061106/

Junker told the Chicago Tribune, however, that he would still allow individuals to visit the shrine. "On your property, you can invite anybody you want," he told the Tribune.

Junker had built the shrine in the side of a hill on his property, according to the AP report. The top of the building features a granite wall honoring the Germans who were tortured and killed (both women and children) by the allies in pow camps set up by the U.S. and Russia during World War II. Tributes to Hitler and to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution have been assembled on the walls. The interior contains a National Socialist flag, a United States flag, and two portraits of Hitler, according to the AP report.

Junker told the Chicago Tribune he spent $200,000 on the shrine.

The Chicago Tribune describes the shrine as "a white concrete structure built into the side of a hill, reachable down a narrow dirt path that is nearly a mile from the nearest road." It is on a beautiful section of land with a large pond and many trees. The building is built into the side of a hill and has a set of stairs taking you up to a landing on the roof. Atop is the monument to all of the Heroes of Europe who fought alongside Germany. Inside the building are large bookshelves and a large conference table, along with the pictures of Adolf Hitler. On a summer day when all of the leaves are a rich green it is a wonderful place to visit and appreciate a great man such as Adolf Hitler.

Junker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he volunteered for the Waffen-SS in 1940 and served on the Russian front.

Junker emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1955 and initially worked in Chicago as a janitor. In 1963 he bought a 120-acre farm in Walworth County.