August 25


LITHUANIA:

Lithuanian Holocaust Memorial Defaced


Unidentified vandals smeared paint on a Holocaust memorial in the Alytus
Vidzgirys forest, according to news media reports compiled by UCSJ's
Baltic Bureau.

The August 13 edition of the national daily "Lietuvos Zinios" noted that
the memorial was unveiled 11 years ago on a spot near the town of Alytus
where thousands of Jews were murdered during World War II.

(source: Israel National News)




GERMANY----neo-Nazis

Neo-Nazis hit graves


NEO-NAZIS have desecrated 50 Jewish gravestones in the city of Bochum, the
latest in a series of attacks that suggest a revival of far-right activity
in Germany.

Right-wing extremists have also been infiltrating the protest movement
against Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was pelted with eggs and stones
in the east German town of Wittenberge yesterday, and are exploiting the
growing discontent of the less prosperous east.

The cemetery attack coincided with clashes and acts of anti-Semitic
vandalism across Germany to mark the anniversary of the death of Rudolf
Hess, Hitler's deputy, who killed himself in prison in August 1987.

Many of the Bochum graves had been plastered with the date of Hess's death
and the lightning-like runes of the SS.

About 4000 neo-Nazis from across Europe gathered at Hess's grave in the
Bavarian village of Wunsiedel at the weekend, where they faced a local
counter-demonstration. More than 100 neo-Nazis were detained.

German observers are particularly concerned, however, at the way neo-Nazis
are trying to hijack weekly demonstrations against the Schroeder
Government.

These protests, organised by leftwingers and trade unions, aim to reverse
a plan to cut dole payments for the long-term unemployed.

The National Party of Germany and other right-wing groups have called on
their members to join the demonstrations and start nationalist chanting.
Some hold up placards denouncing "Jewish capital" and calling for "jobs
for Germans".

(source: The London Times)


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Germany to increase compensation for Nazi victims


Germany is to increase compensation for victims of the Nazis and expand
the number of groups eligible for payment, the ruling Social Democratic
and Green Party coalition said Wednesday.

"Germany has a moral responsibility to ensure the dignity of victims as
they grow older," said a statement by the coalition.

The finance ministry has approved the move, the statement said.

According to new compensation regulations, people who were forcibly
sterilized by the Nazis will get as much as twice the compensation they
got before, amounting to 100 euros (some 120 US dollars) per month.

"Those who were forcibly sterilized have suffered a barbarous life-long
injustice," said the statement. "They could not build families and are
often alone when they are old."

Children of those murdered by Nazis will be able to be compensated if
they were 27 years old or younger, instead 21 yearsold under the current
law, at the time their parents were killed.

The statement also said homosexuals convicted by Nazis will also be
eligible for compensation, said the statement.

The ruling red-green coalition said they would try to further increase
the compensation payments to Nazi victims next year.

(source: Xinhua news)