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Austria recalls embassy employee from Israel over Nazi shirt

March 22, 2018 at 2:13 pm

An Austrian embassy employee was recalled from Israel after posting a picture wearing a T-shirt that said ‘Frundsberg’, a German Waffen SS armoured division during World War Two

Austria has recalled an embassy employee from Israel after media reports emerged that he posted a picture of himself on social media wearing a T-shirt bearing the name of a Nazi tank division, Reuters reported.

The Falter weekly published a screenshot of the attache’s Facebook page which shows him in a green shirt with the words “stand your ground” and “Frundsberg”. Frundsberg was a German Waffen SS armoured division during World War Two.

The attache, Juergen-Michael Kleppich, is a member of the far-right Freedom Party, which is a junior partner in Austria’s coalition government. He was sent to Tel Aviv in December to help out at the embassy for a few months, Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl told radio station ORF yesterday.

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Kleppich was summoned to Vienna to “clarify all circumstances” of the case, said Kneissl. It was not immediately clear whether he would be allowed to resume his post in due course.

Kneissl said she would consult her ministry’s human resources department on Kleppich.

“If there is a disciplinary cause, a disciplinary procedure will be initiated,” she said.