Czech troopers wore SS insignia (in Afghanistan)

[IndianaGreen]

Source: Morning Star

Czech troopers wore SS insignia

Tuesday 10 November 2009
by Tom Mellen

Two army officers and their commander have been suspended after it emerged they had worn nazi insignia while serving with the occupation force in Afghanistan.

Czech Defence Minister Martin Bartak said that it was "unacceptable" that two commanders of a Czech rapid reaction brigade had worn symbols of World War II nazi SS divisions on their helmets while serving in Logar province.

Mr Bartak said: "Fundamental measures will be taken - if it is proved that there were soldiers in high command structures among those responsible, they will also bear the consequences."

Lieutenant Jan Cermak wore the emblem of the infamous SS Dirlewanger brigade and sergeant Hynek Matonoha wore the symbol of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen.

Their commander was suspended for allegedly turning a blind eye to the nazi emblems.

On Friday, before their penchant for nazi regalia came to light, Lt Cermak and Sgt Matonoha were decorated for their service in Afghanistan, where the Czech Republic has a 480-strong unit that serves under NATO command.

The Schutzstaffel or SS units were the cruellest in the nazi war machine which occupied swathes of Europe and the former Soviet Union during the second world war.

Read more: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/conte...

[Endangered Specie]

1. Guess they don't know the history of their nation very well.

[Alcibiades]

3. Or maybe they do

Many Czechs collaborated, and the resistance there was lighter than in most of Nazi-occupied Europe, though nowhere else had been as uniquely sold out by the Allies. And, or course, Czech armaments were the backbone of Hitler's Panzer force.

On the other hand, Nazi imagery is far more taboo in Europe than here. It may be the case that this was some sort of lame-ass attempt to get sent home.

[happyslug]

8. Watch the Czech and their armaments for the Germans in WWII

One of my favorite story of the Czech armament industry of WWII was when the Israeli's purchased a huge lot of Czech made Mauser 98 rifles for its units right after WWII. Before they sent the rifles to the troops they test fired them and found all of them shooting to the left. It quickly became obvious this was intentional shortage in the factory that was NOT caught by the Nazis when the Rifles were made during WWII (and then shipped to German units). The Israeli had the time to fix these rifles but many of them appreciated the efforts of the Czech workers to make a rifle that would pass the German inspectors (and thus NOT be punished themselves and undoing what they had done) AND make the rifle almost unless to use in the field (You needed some machine tools to make the adjustments, but it was an easy fix IF YOU HAVE THE EQUIPMENT AND THE TIME, the Israelis in 1947 had both, the Germans in 1944 did not.

[Alcibiades]

9. Good story

I didn't know that. Of course, I am sure many Czech weapons worked as intended.

No discussion of Czechoslovakia under the Nazis would be complete without some mention of Moravec, who in many ways epitomized the go-along-to-get-along attitude that characterized Nazi collaborators throughout the war, in Czechoslovakia and elsewhere. He's the sort of person I had in mind.

[boppers]

2. The images:

[Mika]

4. The biggest tent belongs to the war party. n/t

[izquierdista]

5. Lidice would never happen in Afghanistan......

Try telling that to the Afghans.

[winyanstaz]

6. Willing officers of the New World Order....

[provis99]

7. before these Czech idiots wear that crap, they should read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidice

and read what Nazis really think of Czech untermenschen.

[classysassy]

10. Maybe those Czecks

should cancled.

[David Zephyr]

11. What a mess it is there.

.