Anti-Semitic incidents, neo-Nazi activity and the use of violence by rightwing extremists has increased considerably in West Berlin, according to an official report by the local authorities. The report, released this week, said that some 500 to 700 West Berliners are members of organized neo-Nazi groups. In the first six months of this year, 71 incidents of violence attributed to extremist elements were reported. In only 29 instances could police identify the persons involved.
Among the reported incidents were the desecrations of Jewish cemeteries, anti-Semitic slogans in public places and “a demonstrative use of Nazi symbols.” The major neo-Nazi organization in West Germany, the National Democratic Party, conducts its activities underground in West Berlin despite a ban against it imposed by the four allied powers in the city — the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
The report also described as “especially unscrupulous” a rightwing West Berlin group called the Viking Youth Organization. This group joined with other extremist organizations in staging protest meetings against the
screening in Germany in 1979 the American TV series, “Holocaust.” Another group in the city has made an effort to revive Hitler’s Nazi Party and has labelled the Federal Republic a “Jewish Republic.”
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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.
