Christians to meet before neo-Nazi march through PlzeňBy ČTK / Published 10 January 2008
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Plzen, West Bohemia, Jan 9 (CTK) - Czech Christians will commemorate the 1942 transport of Jews from Plzen to the concentration camp on January 18, a day before right-wing radicals are going to march through Plzen, Karel Simr, for the organisers, told CTK Wednesday.
On January 18 Christians will meet for a prayer in the St. Bartolomew Cathedral at Plzen's main square.
The next day Christians will attend a commemorative assembly outside the Great Synagogue in Plzen to express solidarity with Jewish citizens, Simr said.
On January 18, 1942, the first transport of Plzen Jews to the Terezin (Theresienstadt) ghetto and internment camp in north Bohemia took place. Further transports followed on January 22 and January 26.
A total of 2605 Jews were transported to Terezin then, and only 112 of them returned home after World War Two.
The right-wing extremists are planning to march through Plzen on January 19. They say it is a reaction to the police intervention against a neo-Nazi march through Prague's Jewish Town last November.
The Plzen Town Hall has not banned the January 19 march.
About 150 radicals are expected to come and they are likely to be armed.
Many people and organisations, including Jewish communities, however, view the rally as an event offending and mocking the Holocaust victims.
The extremists also planned to stage another march through Plzen on January 26, but this one has been banned.
The January 19 extremists' march has been condemned by some civic associations and Jewish communities as well as politicians from several parties in parliament.
Some organisations are planning protests against the march.
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http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/248/czech_national_news/16889/
