Berlin | Oct. 26, 2026, 1:03 p.m. ET | 2 min read

An arsonist has once again hurled Germany into a question that it has spent more than 80 years answering: What should it do with the architectural relics of the Nazi regime?

Authorities in the southern state of Bavaria have arrested a man in connection with the wholesale destruction of the Eagle’s Nest, a Nazi guest house visited several times by Adolf Hitler. Its stunning location atop a peak with sweeping views of the Alps made it the backdrop for Nazi propaganda films and, more recently, a significant tourist attraction.

Investigators have not yet offered a motive but pointed to the suspect’s record of mental illness.

In the hours after the fire, Bavaria’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, considered what might come next.…