Slovak town changing street name to that of Nazi member

The local prosecutor's office is looking into the decision of councillors in the town of Prievidza to rename a street after a member of the German Nazi party, the Pravda daily reported on Tuesday. Last week the council decided to rename Západná ulica (West Street) after German entrepreneur Max Brose. Brose was a member of the Third Reich's Economy Ministry and used forced labour from occupied territories to produce military equipment. He also took possession of a villa from its Jewish owners. After the war he was convicted of promoting a criminal regime and received a large fine. He died in 1968. Today, the company that Brose owned is one of the world's biggest suppliers of automobile parts and it intends to build a factory in Prievidza to employ around 600 people in the first phase. The foundation stone is due to be laid on Thursday. "It's terrible that at the current time we're about to rename a street after a Nazi. This completely steps all over and disrespects the memory of people who fought against fascism for our freedom", said Soňa Pinková from the Anti-Fascist Fighters Association in Prievidza. It appears that the town council decided to rename the street after Brose in response to the plans to build the aforementioned new plant and in line with a request from the German company. "The investor presented its reasons by saying that it's part of its marketing and business strategy for the trading name of the company, which is the same as that of the entrepreneur, should be linked to street names everywhere that a [Brose] plant, of which there are 50 around the world, is to be built", said Prievidza council spokesman Michal Ďureje. Prievidza town councillor Michal Dobiaš claims that he had no idea of Max Brose's links to the Nazis and that if the assertions concerning him are proven correct, the council should re-examine the matter.