Three youths were convicted Wednesday by an Austrian court for attacking visitors at a former concentration camp last year. A court in the town of Wels found the male teenagers guilty of neo-Nazi activities and handed down suspended prison sentences of between five and six months, Austrian press agency APA reported. A fourth boy was acquitted. The incident happened in May 2009 during a memorial event to commemorate the liberation of prisoners of the Ebensee camp at the end of World War II. One of the boys shocked visitors by goose-stepping in camouflage gear, shouting 'Heil Hitler' and other neo-Nazi slogans. He and the others fired plastic ammunition with gas-powered weapons and hit one camp survivor and three other attendees. Three of the four youths were 16 during the attack, while one was only 14.
The verdicts did not immediately enter into force, pending possible appeals. The incident had lead to debate in Austria about young people's historical awareness. Authorities of Upper Austria province where Ebensee is located have drawn up an action plan to prevent youth extremism and violence. An organization of concentration camp survivors and Christian and Jewish representatives have presented new educational concepts for youths that add anti-racism workshops to Holocaust education. Of the 27,000 men from all over Europe who were deported to Ebensee, around 8,500 perished in the camp run by the SS.
dpa
