Dutch ‘Nazis’ protest over Covid measures

TEN people dressed as Nazis staged a mock execution of a Jewish prisoner on the streets of a Dutch village in a protest against coronavirus restrictions.

Images on social media of the young people giving Nazi salutes and appearing to carry weapons caused outrage in Urk, which has the lowest vaccination rate in the Netherlands.

In one picture, a “Nazi soldier” pretends to shoot a kneeling person wearing the Star of David. The group were also accused of setting off a smoke bomb in the street on Saturday.

Authorities in the staunchly Christian municipality are now investigating whether a crime was committed.

The group claimed to have been at a fancy dress party in a letter of apology, which made no mention of the pandemic. It said: “We want to emphasise that we are absolutely not anti-semitic or against Jews, or support the German regime. Our sincere apologies.”

About three quarters of the Jewish population of the Netherlands, which was occupied by the Nazis, were murdered during the Holocaust.

“We understand that these young people want to make their voices heard about the impact of the coronavirus measures,” said mayor Cees van den Bos. “However, we do not understand the way they are doing it.”