Saturday, Feb 16, 2013 at 6:41 AM
Neo-Nazis Preach Hate Through Soccer
Getty Images
Nearly seven decades after the Holocaust, young soccer fans in Germany have become targets of neo-Nazis who preach the hatred of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Prime targets of anti-Semitism on the soccer field are the Makkabi teams, Jewish athletic clubs located in 15 German cities. “Again and again we see neo-Nazi presence in [sports] fan clubs and my office asks that action be taken against them,” said Winfriede Schreiber, head of the Brandenburg branch of the German government’s intelligence service. Making matters worse, neo-Nazis now blend in with everyone else. “Gone are the jackboots and black leather jackets that used to make it easy to expose them. Now they blend into the local population,” Schreiber continued. She also said the neo-Nazis subscribe to Hitler’s views and extol his one-time deputy, Rudolf Hess. The problem of antisemitism is not limited to Germany. In England, fans of London-based Tottenham Hotspur -- which boasts a strong Jewish following -- have been subjected to anti-Semitic abuse for many years. In November, supporters of West Ham United "hissed on several occasions, mocking the mass execution of Jews during the Second World War," the U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper reported. "While the hissing, shamefully, is nothing new, Tottenham fans were also subjected to a chant of 'Adolf Hitler, he's coming for you.'"
Get More at NBC News 
- Will China mediate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
- Hofstra student shot in home robbery was killed by police, officials say
- Students can't resist distraction for two minutes ... and neither can you
- Oxbow upsets Orb in Preakness
- Restaurants fear tough drunk-driving law will be buzzkill for light drinkers
NBCNews.com on your phone
NBCNews.com on Facebook
NBCNews.com on Twitter- Top News Photos of the Week
- FBI Rules Out Foul Play in Connecticut Train Crash
- Plane Makes Belly Landing at Newark Airport
- Deaf Dog Stolen, Held For Ransom: Family
- Former Officer Charged With Rape Held on $60M Bail
Girl Left in Car in School Parking Lot Dies- Drug Cartels Move High-Level Operations into DFW
- Soldier Sentenced to Life for Killing 5 at Iraq Clinic
- Man Fatally Shot in Head in NYC's Greenwich Village Investigated as Hate Crime: Police
- Hofstra Student Was Killed by Police Gunshot: Officials
- Granbury Tornado Victims Return
