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Czech officers caught wearing Nazi symbols in Afghanistan – report
Published: 10 November, 2009, 22:30
Edited: 20 June, 2010, 23:51
Hynek Matonoha wearing the emblem of the 9th SS panzer division (Image from eideard.wordpress.com)
(14.5Mb) embed videoTAGS: Conflict, NATO, EU, Hate crimes, Middle East
Two commanders of the Czech rapid reaction brigade are facing disciplinary actions after reports surfaced that they had Nazi symbols on their helmets during their deployment in Afghanistan.
The news, which caused quite a stir among the country’s armed forces, came from the Mlada fronta Dnes daily.
According to the paper, soldiers Hynek Matonoha and Jan Cermak wore the symbols of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen and the SS Dirlewanger brigade respectively, which were probably the most infamous SS combat units of World War Two.
Cermak said he used the SS symbol simply because it consists of a sword and an "H", the first letter of his name Honza, which is the colloquial form of Jan.
"It was just a joke and I am very sorry about it," Cermak told MfD, adding that he didn’t know it was a Nazi symbol.
But specialist in extremism, Michal Mazel, doesn’t believe such an excuse.
"He is an elite troop who graduated from university, he is no teenager. The SS symbols on their helmets show a totally perverse view of the world of the NATO military's elite troops," Mazel said.
Meanwhile, Matonoha failed to offer any excuse for his actions.
Click to enlarge
However, the story was made public after Czech police serving in Afghanistan reported the case.
Both soldiers were immediately suspended. Defense Minister Bartak said the soldiers’ alleged actions were ``unacceptable''. Officials say the soldiers' commander was also suspended for reportedly trying to hush up the case.
Petr Prochazka, the commander of the Czech contingent in Logar, Afghanistan, ordered that the controversial covers of the helmets, as well as any photographs showing them, be burnt, but failed to punish the perpetrators.
The case with the soldiers is nothing new for the Czech Republic, said Ivona Novomestska, a spokesperson for the anti-violence movement.
“There were several attacks on Roma and other communities in recent years, and these problems in our army of course shocked all Czech people,” she said.
It is the second recent scandal involving the Czech military.Last week it turned out that a professional Czech soldier, Lukas Sedlacek, is a member of a neo-Nazi group that was planning to attack and kidnap high-ranking officials of Jewish origin. When the information surfaced, the man was immediately removed from the army.
“The main question I’m worried about is that this kind of sentiment is growing, and in some places in Europe these kinds of ideas are very much encouraged by the government,” he told RT.
Meanwhile, German government consultant Christopher Hoersel believes the soldiers were protesting government policies they felt forced them to commit crimes similar to those made by Hitler's soldiers during World War II.
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I like Giuglietto Chiesa, but this time I think he's wrong. The Czechs are well-known for their sardonic humor. It's codified in their national epic: The Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk in the Great War. I'm myself part Slovak and possibly Czech and I've read the Czech "Black Book" put out by the Czech Academy of Sciences, which was a hilarious satire of the Czech "White Book" which the Stalinist aparatchiks authored to cover up their overreaction to the 1968 "Prague Spring". Both of these, and many other Czech works, are filled with the darkest kinds of pokes at the establishment. What is a high-ranking soldier to do when he is ordered to carry out Schutzstaffel (SS) work in Afghanistan or be kicked out of the Czech Army? I agree with Christopher Hoestler, who knows the Czech sense of humor better than Chiesa. I also agree with the people here who reflect the guarded historical fact that NATO was a nazi creation. When Hitler threw down the sword, the US and UK picked it up and continued the war on the USSR (mostly by political means rather than confront the superior Red Army head-on, if I can echo the recent remarks by the RT reporter about the uneasy peace in Bosnia).
The problem is not some officers wearing nazi symbols, they wouldn't dare to do so if their political leadership didn't give them the "good" example... In Eastern Europe, the NWO has revived nazism and created an anti-Russian hatred zone. In many East European countries, nazism is the unadmited official ideology. They condemn while others watch and encourage with a friendly slap at the back when they are alone... So the officers are doing what they have been tought to do. If they learn at school about the nazi "heroes" that fought against the "evil" Soviet army, they will bear svasticas and ss symbols with pride. So, don't be angry with me if I tell you that actually it's not their fault... Propaganda can do that and much worse. In Eastern Europe, the NWO has revived nazism and created an anti-Russian hatred zone. These countries are to carry out the most agressive anti-Russian policies of USA regardless of any consequences to themselves. So the peoples of these countries must be taught to hate Russia to the death... Using what USSR did to this countries, US propagandists easily managed to "vindicate" the nazi agression. And indeed some of these countries WILLINGLY allied with the nazis back in WW2. So a nazi background was already there and so US minions' job was very easy. Those who still have some brains in their heads realize that capitalism destroyed their lives as they have no money, no job and banks will soon take their houses. They wish bad comies were back... The rest are brainwashed nazis ready to give their lives for the glory of USA. I agree with Count_Cash, NATO acts like nazis. So it is expected to nurture nazism where it is possible. None tortures and kills better than a nazi...
I could have Das Reich, Totenkopfen, LSSAH Division or any number of other SS Division emblems painted on various things and the dummies around here wouldn't have the foggiest idea what they were. The Afghanies probably have even less of a clue as to what those emblems mean. I agree that it is some kind of a black joke on the part of the Czech soldiers. It probably a sign that they see their service in Afghanistan as equivalent to a Nazi mission.