The Federation of Jewish Communities in Austria protested this week-end to the Austrian Government against the holding of pro-Nazi meetings in Salzburg and in the Tyrol. Despite the protest, however, the Austrian authorities made no attempt to interfere with the rallies in Salzburg yesterday and today.
The rallies, described as “memorial meetings,” brought together former Nazis and Gestapo members who had been interned by the American occupation authorities at the Glasenbach Camp near Salzburg after the end of World War II. Several thousand Austrians and a number of West Germans attended.
The Jewish protest to Austrian Minister of the Interior Oskar Helmer asked that the Salzburg and Tyrol gatherings-the latter scheduled for later this Fall–be banned under the terms of Austrian legislation. The rallies, the protest said, would be a “provocation” of the Austrian Jewish community and “can only provide the signal for the gathering of former Nazis, members of the SS and Gestapo and offer encouragement for a revival of a neo-Nazi and Fascist movement. It may well start a fateful development in Austria threatening democratic freedom and arousing racial and religious hatred,” the statement concluded.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
