German neo-Nazis to join in Plzen march

German neo-Nazis are calling on their supporters to join in a march through Plzeň, western Bohemia, on January 19. The march is organized by a Czech far-right, nationalist group Narodní Odpor, or National Resistance, in protest against alleged restrictions on freedom of speech. The protesters are planning to march past Plzeň’s Great Synagogue only a day before the 66th anniversary of the first transports of local Jews to Nazi extermination camps. The police are expecting that several hundred radicals might arrive from Germany for the occasion. Meanwhile, Plzeň’s Jewish community and other Czech Jewish organisations are summoning a protest rally in front of the local Jewish house of prayer.

Author: Jan Richter