(JTA) — Right-wing elements in Hungary and Lithuania marked Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
A Hungarian online news channel backed by the extreme-right party Jobbik aired a segment on Hitler on April 20, the 122nd anniversary of his birth, the French news agency AFP reported. The 30-second piece praised Hitler for his “economic and moral contribution” to Germany.
AFP also reported pro-Hitler vandalism in Lithuania, including three flags with Nazi swastikas raised on a hill near the center of the capital city, Vilnius, and anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi slogans left on banners near a synagogue in Kaunas. The perpetrators have not yet been caught.
Lithuanian authorities strongly condemned the latter incidents.
“They are an attack on the Lithuanian state and civil society," the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement. "They incite hatred toward the Lithuanian Jewish community and should be treated as a provocation against Lithuania."
In Hungary, the pro-Hitler piece that aired on online channel N1 praised the Nazi leader, who “rapidly re-launched the destroyed, impoverished Germany,” and blasted the “political witch-hunt of the victorious powers,” notably “the Anglo-Saxon and Bolshevik allies,” for attacking his legacy.
N1’s launch in December was announced by Jobbik leader Gabor Vona, whose party entered parliament last year with 12 percent of the votes.
The station’s mission is to present news that is “not available or shown only in a distorted way in the mainstream media,” according to the AFP report.
In contrast to Lithuania, there was no mainstream or governmental response to the Hungarian broadcast.
