Czechs troops in Afghanistan wearing Nazi symbols – UPDATED
Matonoha wearing the emblem of the 9th SS panzer division
Two commanders of the Czech rapid reaction brigade had Nazi symbols on their helmets during their deployment in Afghanistan, the Prague daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today.
Hynek Matonoha wore the symbol of the 9th SS panzer division Hohenstaufen, Jan Cermak of the SS Dirlewanger brigade, which was one of the most infamous SS combat units of World War Two, the paper writes.
Czech Defence Minister Martin Bartak and chief-of-staff Vlastimil Picek decorated both men on Friday after their return from the Afghan mission, MfD says.
Picek and Bartak may have not known about the commanders’ helmets, MfD notes.
But Czech police serving in Afghanistan reported the case. They confirmed this to the paper, requesting anonymity because they believe that the Czech military wants to keep the case secret…
The single incident that prompted my best friend to get into parachutes reconnaissance – after he lied about his age and enlisted at the start of WW2 – was the massacre of all the men and boys over 16 by the SS in Lidice, Czechoslovakia.
Believe me, there is no one in the Czech Republic who doesn’t know what Nazi symbols mean.
UPDATE: The two commanders have been fired.
You don’t have to go far to pretend you’re a member of the 9th SS Division.
Jägermeister
November 9, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Holy good phuk!!! If I didn’t read it I wouldn’t have believed it.
BTW, in Saving Private Ryan, contrary to what the web site says, they used a Russian tank dressed up as a “Tiger”. They just didn’t make all that many to begin with plus they had a horrible attrition rate during the war.
But wannabes don’t always follow reality.
Mr. Fusion
November 9, 2009 at 7:29 pm
This holds true for quite a few movies. Half tracks is another popular vehicle they like to fake in movies. Quite a few German ones are actually American, but painted in German colors.
Jägermeister
November 9, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Those so-called Tigers in the film Battle of the Bulge always bugged the hell out of me for some reason, too.
I mean, they couldn’t even be bothered to try and make them look anything like a real Tiger.
Oh well. Good movie but kind of spoiled for me.
Cinaedh
November 10, 2009 at 2:50 pm