Cop gives Hitler salute at British embassy

BERLIN, April 29 (Reuters) - A policeman guarding Britain's embassy in Berlin has been suspended after he gave a fellow officer the stiff-armed Hitler salute at the start of his shift.

The 42-year-old is under investigation for making the outlawed salute and subsequent Nazi greeting, believed to be either "Sieg Heil" or "Heil Hitler."

He could face prosecution for the use of illegal symbols, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

"The officer raised his right arm upon arrival in the police duty office at the British embassy and greeted his colleague by making an outlawed statement," police said in a statement.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2004/04/29/cop_gives_hitler_salute_at_british_embassy/

That's a little weird.

to Nazis is illegal in Germany. Kind of weird I guess since we allow every group as long as they are not actually hurting anyone, but there are no Nazi groups allowed there in any way shape or form. They are real strict about it.

But displaying anti-constitutional symbols, especially the swastika, is. Being actively against the constitution is actually against the constitution. The idea is to be able to act before such a group gets dangerous.
Nazi groups are usually not allowed, but for example the neo-nazi NPD party did avoid getting banned (although the partisan conservative German Supreme court can be blamed for that).

A police officer performing such a gesture is a pretty big deal, but not nearly unheard off. That he was sacked shows that it is no joking matter, not even among colleagues.

I imagine if a federal employee showed up to work in a white sheet he'd be investigated too.

and I'm hard pressed to think of a symbol we have outlawed.

Over here, any given weekend, you can go to a gun show or whatever and see tables FULL of Nazi memorabilia for sale.

In Germany, if it goes on, it's all very hush-hush. Wipe it out of eye and mind, why? I dunno, guess someone in the Occupational Staff after the war thought it'd be a good way to ensure Nazism would die.

Someone forgot to tell the skinheads, though...

At the shows. Hell, my grandfather had some Nazi stuff he took as trophies. Now that the greatest generation is dying, their heirs are selling off the historical war trophies that their fathers or grandfathers won in combat. I find it a shame. Instead of selling this stuff to the highest bidder, we should keep it to remember what those men went through to defeat Hitler and the Nazis. I know that I keep, with reverence, grandpa's .45, his uniform, and the memorabilia he brought home. God bless those men, their heirs would do well to remember their sacrifices.

could get that investigation started here

"Ven he vos Cheef auf Poh-lees beck home durink der Krieg..."

As my buddies and I were leaving a bar in a downtown city and were peacefully making our way back to the barracks. Suddenly this punk on the other side of the street flashes the Nazi salute at us and starts cussing at us in German. I had only been in Germany a couple of weeks but what he said got the attention of an elderly man that was close to him waiting at a nearby bus stop.

The old man was disgusted, got up, walked towards the kid and started whacking him to the ground with his walking cane. So the kid starts wailing and ducking and attracts the attention of a nearby polizei who runs towards the two in hopes of breaking it up.

So the polizei gets there separates the two and asks the old man what the hell is going on. The old man tells the cop what happened and the cop asks the kid if its true. The kid safe from the grasp of the old man starts cussing again, cop can't believe his ears, pulls out his baton and starts whacking the kid. It was bizarre.

Some Germans will not stand that Nazi shit.

countries in the name of 'defense' and all.