VIENNA — Austria’s foreign ministry summons an attache from its embassy in Israel after he posted a picture of himself on social media wearing a T-shirt bearing the name of a Nazi tank division.
A screenshot of the post on Juergen-Michael Kleppich’s Facebook page shows him in the green shirt with the words “Stand your ground” and “Frundsberg,” the Falter weekly reported.
The last name of Georg von Frundsberg, who was a mercenary in the 15th century, was used by the Nazis during World War II for its 10th SS Panzer division.
Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl orders Kleppich “be summoned to Vienna immediately to submit to a legal probe into the accusations in the media,” her ministry says.
The episode is the latest embarrassment for a member of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) since it came to power in December in a coalition with the center-right People’s Party.
Kleppich, who is also an FPOe local councilor in a district of Vienna, had previously posted a photo of his grandfather in a Nazi uniform, complete with swastika, according to Falter.
— AFP
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