HITLER’S OAK TREE

Timaru Boys’ High School is home to one of the world’s last living memories of Adolf Hitler, but just don’t mention his name. The school refers to their famous landmark as the ‘Lovelock Tree’.

Lovelock Tree (Hitler/Olympic Oak)

 “We’re very proud of that oak tree. It wasn’t given personally by Hitler, by the way.” Secretary at Timaru Boys’ High School

OLYMPIC PRIZE

In 1936, a Berlin botanic nursery suggested to Adolf Hitler that he gift oak tree seedlings to every gold medallist at the Berlin Olympics that year. Hitler liked the idea because the baby trees would not only be a gift from the German people, but would fit well with the Nazi motto “blut unt boden” or “blood and soil”. The gift also aligned nicely with the party’s controversial status as an early advocate of the green movement. On top of this, the oak symbolized Hitler’s dream for the Third Reich: to grow tall and strong, and to last for a very long time. read more