British Jews Tell Envoy of ‘deep Concern’ over West German Neo-nazism

West Germany’s Ambassador to London, Dr. Herbert Blankenhorn, assured a delegation from the Board of Deputies of British Jews today that the problems they brought to his attention concerning the rising political power and influence of the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party in West Germany, were under serious consideration by the Bonn Government. He said the coalition government was considering ways and means of dealing with the problems posed by the NPD and by the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes which is to go into effect in 1969. He invited the delegation to return in the near future to review what progress had been made.

The delegation, headed by Alderman Michael Fiddler, president of the Board, and Sir Barnett Janner, vice-president, urged the Bonn Government to take decisive steps to deal with the menace of neo-Nazism. It noted with “deep concern” that the propaganda and methods of the NPD and of right-wing publications such as the Deutsche National und Soldaten Zeltung, an organ of virulent anti-Israel propaganda, were ominously reminiscent of the Nazis. These trends, they believed, represented a menace to world peace and to Jewish communities outside as well as within Germany. The delegation referred to “disturbing reports” of extremist right-wing Influences in the Germany Army and stressed the need for more intensive education in democracy.