NEO-NAZI REVIVAL: 70 YEARS AFTER HOLOCAUST, NEO NAZI GROUPS SEEK RECRUITS IN SOCCER FIELDS

NEONAZI REVIVAL: 70 YEARS AFTER HOLOCAUST, NEO NAZI GROUPS SEEK RECRUITS IN SOCCER FIELDS

Seventy years on, the ugly reality of neo nazi groups is becoming more pressing each day.  If anyone thought the groups were moribund, they would have been wrong. 

Each day immigration woes are being used by the groups to bolster their numbers.  

Now, they are targeting young men, children even, using the old mainstay of recruitment:  the soccer fields.

Trying to thwart the innocence of young children through neighborhood games is nothing new.  But it is particularly ugly when the recruiters are neo Nazi members trying to lure youth into their ranks.

Authorities have taken notice of this in Germany and are asking Soccer and Youth clubs to be on the alert to repel the attempts of the group.  

What makes it more difficult to contrast the recruitment is that Neo-nazis today don't wear the 'scary' uniform of jackboots and leather jackets, but have started to blend in by dressing in a 'softer' way, so as not to be so visible.  

One of the things observed by monitoring volunteers,  for example, is that they teach to use the word 'Juden' as a generic curse word on the field, even if there are no Jews present.  

The activity of the groups seems to be particularly strong in the eastern part of Germany, although they are present everywhere in Germany.  This could be attributed to a reactionary trend against the previous status of East Germany as a satellite of the soviet republics. 

What is more worrisome, the trend seems to be present in other countries.  

One famous soccer club in England is besieged by neo nazi members, who at a soccer match in November were mocking mass execution of Jews during the Holocaust by chanting slurs when a West Ham soccer club, which has a large Jewish following, was playing in the field.  

In Italy too Neo Nazis or neo fascists are becoming more brazen.  In Rome also in November, an incident of anti Jewish persecution took place when a band of armed thugs stabbed a young man with a foot long knife, and attacked Tottenham Hotspur fans before a Europa League match.

The Simon Wiesenthal center has recently highlighted the problem, by noting that anti-semitic abuse at soccer matches has been revived in Europe, whereas it used to be limited to the eastern block countries.  

One of the targets of the Neo nazis are the Makkabi groups, soccer leagues that are Jewish athletic clubs located in 15 German cities. The members of these groups are not always Jews, and if they happen to be originally from a Muslim country they are persecuted for playing "with Jews".

Now, the Makkabis are facing a double threat: one one side the neo nazi groups, on the other muslim immigrants who are antisemitic.

As Germany works to stamp out the growth of these groups, their activity seems to be insidiously spreading throughout Europe, where anti Jewish sentiment has been on the rise throughout.

Source : NBC news 2.16.13  / Snyder