Neo-nazi Leader to Speak Before British Students Despite Protests

Adolph von Thadden, deputy leader of West Germany’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party, will address a student club at Oxford University after all. The Cosmos Club on Oxford’s campus announced today he had been invited to address a meeting Friday, and had accepted the invitation.

As soon as the announcement was made, Jonathan Cohen, senior treasurer of the club and a founder and former chairman of the undergraduate society, resigned from Cosmos. He said he believed the sponsoring of an address by von Thadden was “incompatible” with the principles of the society. “We should not provide a platform for this particular person,” he stated. “The society’s principles are those of the United Nations.”

The Liberal Club of Oxford had previously invited him for an address next Friday, then canceled the invitation when it could find no Liberal Party leader willing to share the platform with him. The Oxford Conservation Association also considered inviting him, then changed its mind.

Today, the Cosmos executive committee accepted Mr. Cohen’s resignation with “deep regret.” The committee stated: “We believe that, whatever the opinions are, held by a man, his right to express those opinions must be upheld. This is especially true in a university proud of its long tradition of free inquiry. The meeting does not imply support for von Thadden’s views. We thoroughly deplore all forms of racialism and aggressive nationalism.”

In the face of wide protests against von Thadden’s scheduled appearance at Oxford, the Cosmos Club said that “strict security precautions” will he taken when he appears on the campus. If the meeting is held as scheduled, it will be von Thadden’s first public address in Britain.