# Cross Cafe

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{{Short description|Adolf-Hitler themed restaurant in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai}}
{{redirect|Hitler's Cross|the emblem used by Nazi Germany|Swastika}}
{{redirect|Hitler's Cross|book ''Hitler's Cross'' (1998)|Erwin Lutzer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}

{{coord|19.0343116|73.0635185|display=title}}

'''''Cross Cafe''''', formerly known as '''''Hitlers' Cross''''' or '''''Hitler's Cross''''', was an [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler)-[themed restaurant](/source/Theme_restaurant) at [Kharghar](/source/Kharghar) in [Navi Mumbai](/source/Navi_Mumbai), a satellite city of [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai). The restaurant's former name, "Hitlers' Cross", referred to the [swastika](/source/swastika) and the [Cross of Honour of the German Mother](/source/Cross_of_Honour_of_the_German_Mother), symbols of the [Nazi regime](/source/Nazi_regime), and the restaurant's interior was decorated in red, white and black - the colours of the [Nazi party](/source/Nazi_party). An enormous portrait of Hitler was the first thing visitors saw when they opened the door. After severe criticism, Hitlers' Cross had to drop its name and is today called the Cross Cafe.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mumbai restaurant renamed The Cross Cafe, Hitler dropped from name {{!}} Taiwan News {{!}} 2006-08-29 23:36:36|url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/180246|access-date=2021-07-16|website=Taiwan News|date=29 August 2006|archive-date=16 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716135109/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/180246|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

==Controversy==
The swastika is controversial in some parts of the world due to usage by [the Third Reich](/source/Nazi_Germany).<ref>''[https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060821/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_india_hitler Mumbai's "Hitler" eatery angers Indian Jews]''{{dead link|date=July 2012}}, by Krittivas Mukherjee, ''Reuters'', 19 August 2006.</ref>

The Hitler-themed restaurant caused an uproar in the Jewish community in Mumbai and other citizens in the city. Although the store's owner, [Punit Sablok](/source/Punit_Sablok), argued that his establishment was not promoting Hitler, Jonathan Solomon, chairman of the [Indian Jewish Federation](/source/Indian_Jewish_Federation), was among the infuriated. According to the Associated Press, there are just 5,500 Jews in India, and all but 1,000 live in Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/08/23/new_restaurant_bears_hitlers_name/ |title=New restaurant bears Hitler's name - Boston.com |access-date=24 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312045027/http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/08/23/new_restaurant_bears_hitlers_name/ |archive-date=12 March 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Sablok's refusal to change the theme earned the restaurant notoriety around the world as strongly worded letters from Israel and Germany outpoured in the city's dailies.{{clarify|date=August 2012}} The Israeli Embassy also sent a strongly-worded letter to the owners.<ref>''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060829210739/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/24/sports/fuhrer.php  In India, a café named Hitler's Cross]''{{dead link|date=July 2012}}, by Anand Giridharadas, in the ''International Herald Tribune'', 24 August 2006.</ref>

On 24 August 2006, after less than a week of international outcry and a meeting with local Jewish leaders, Sablok agreed to remove Hitler's name and the Nazi swastika from billboards and the restaurant's menu. At that point, he said he was unsure of the name to be chosen. The Indian Jewish Federation reacted positively, saying it was relieved. "The incident exposes the lack of understanding of the present generation about the atrocities of the past and the need to educate them about crimes against humanity," Solomon said.<ref>''[http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-08-24T122805Z_01_DEL270636_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-INDIA-HITLER.XML Under fire, Indian eatery drops Hitler from name]''{{dead link|date=July 2012}}, Reuters news bulletin, 24 August 2006.</ref>

On 30 August, the restaurant was renamed the ''Cross Cafe''. Two other options, ''Fort Knox'' and ''Exotic Goblet'', were considered by the owners before they decided on the new name, Sabhlok added.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/?StoryID=20060829-111205-1438r|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316125831/http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060829-111205-1438r|url-status=dead|title=Top News, Latest headlines, Latest News, World News & U.S News - UPI.com|archivedate=16 March 2008|website=UPI}}</ref> Puneet Sablok said the Nazi swastika that adorned signs advertising the eatery and its menus would be removed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=73066 |title=Mumbai's Hitler Cross renamed 'The Cross Cafe' |publisher=Expressindia.com |date=29 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916082017/http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=73066 |accessdate=14 August 2010|archive-date=16 September 2012 }}</ref>

==Other similar establishments==
''Adolf Hitler Techno Bar & Cocktail Show'' used to exist in [Busan](/source/Busan), [South Korea](/source/South_Korea), though by 2003 it had been renamed to the ''Ddolf Ditler Techno Bar & Cocktail Show'', and then renamed again after [Julius Caesar](/source/Julius_Caesar). By 2011, the bar was replaced by ''Carnival Song Club'' [karaoke bar](/source/Karaoke_box).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pusanweb.com/feature/hitlerbar/hitlermain.htm|title=A Visit to The Hitler Bar|accessdate=2012-07-15}}</ref> In [Bandung](/source/Bandung), [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia), there is a Nazi-themed cafe named "Soldatenkaffee"; however, the cafe claimed to be a [World War II](/source/World_War_II) theme instead of a Nazi theme.<ref>''[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nazithemed-caf-in-indonesia-reopens--keeping-the-swastikas-and-images-of-hitler-it-pledged-to-remove-9554643.html Nazi-themed café in Indonesia reopens—keeping the swastikas and images of Hitler it pledged to remove ]'', The Independent UK, 22 June 2014.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110525120946/http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004602502 ''Hitler-themed Restaurant Causing Uproar In Mumbai''] by Shaveta Bansal, in  ''All Headline News'', 21 August 2006.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Kharghar-eatery-hails-Hitler/articleshow/1906370.cms | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130127032054/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-08-19/mumbai/27814318_1_hitler-s-cross-sablok-builders-sanjeev-naik | url-status = live | archive-date = 27 January 2013 | title = Kharghar eatery hails Hitler | first = Vijay | last = Singh | work = [The Times of India](/source/The_Times_of_India) | date = 19 August 2006}}

Category:2006 establishments in Maharashtra
Category:Swastika
Category:Navi Mumbai
Category:Restaurants in India
Category:Theme restaurants
Category:Economy of Navi Mumbai
Category:Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cross Cafe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Cafe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Cafe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
