UNITY MITFORD WAS one of the famous Mitford sisters. She had sympathy for the German Nazis, and in particular  its leader, Adolf Hitler. It is likely that she had a crush on him.

In Munich,  Hitler used to like dining at an Italian restaurant called Osteria Bavaria, an old establishment first opened in 1890. Knowing that Hitler used to frequent the restaurant, Unity Mitford used to arrive there, sit opposite the dictator’s usual table. When he arrived, she would try to catch his eye, and would be invited to join his table. All this occurred long ago before I  paid a visit to Munich in the early 2000s.

While in the city,   I discovered  that the restaurant was still in existence, but had been renamed Osteria Italiana. We reserved a table for dinner. Our table was in one of the place’s several dining rooms. The walls of the dining area had been maintained as they were when the Osteria first opened. The Italian food we were served was first-class. Our friend, who lived in Munich, warned us not to mention Hitler while we were in the restaurant.  She was terrified that if any of our fellow, mostly German, diners heard his name, they would have been embarrassed.  We did as she asked.

As we were leaving the Osteria, I noticed something at the entrance, which I had not seen when we arrived. It was a sign, both in German and English, that read:

“In touch with history.”

I thought that was a great way of alluding to a hateful person, who made a huge impact on the affairs of the world.