Hungarian teacher suspended for Nazi uniform stunt

Jun 21, 2007, 14:07 GMT

Budapest - The deputy head of a Hungarian church school who appeared in photographs wearing a Nazi SS uniform has been suspended from his duties, the head of the Hungarian Church's school authority said Thursday.

History teacher Akos Peter Kosaras, 36, posted pictures of himself dressed in the uniform on the internet, although the pictures have now been removed.

The teacher at a school in the small settlement of Budakeszi just outside Budapest was supposedly playing the role of a 'kind-hearted' SS officer during a historical game, the daily Nepszava said.

An MP for the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party, Gergely Barandy, condemned the teacher's actions and called for an investigation.

Istvan Szalma, head of the church's school authority, told MTI news agency that they were looking into the teacher's conduct while he was suspended.

However, the school's headmistress said that Kosaras was a 'well- known preserver of traditions' and that there was nothing objectionable about his hobby.

A local MP for the opposition Fidesz party Zsolt Gyenge was last year expelled from the party for being photographed in an SS uniform.

While Hungary was initially an ally to the Nazis, the Germans invaded Hungary toward the tail end of the World War II and installed the fascist Arrow Cross Party as its puppet government.

Symbols of extreme left- or right-wing organisations such as the swastika and the Soviet red star are banned in Hungary.