Germans protest neo-Nazi rally on WW2 anniversary

Tens of thousands of Germans took part in a candlelight vigil against neo-Nazis that stretched across Berlin on Saturday night on the eve of ceremonies marking the end of World War II in Europe.

Undeterred by rain and cold, thousands with candles, flashlights or lanterns stood in a 33-km (21-mile) chain linking the far western district of Spandau with the easternmost area of Mahlsdorf and passing through the central Brandenburg Gate.

They were protesting against a march by a group of several hundred neo-Nazis planned for Sunday, the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's surrender.

"We want to stand up to these incorrigible people who even today are denying what happened under the Nazi rule," said Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit at the start of two days of "festival for democracy" events around the Brandenburg Gate.

"May 8, 1945 was a day of liberation for Berlin, Germany and Europe from Nazi dictatorship," he added. "This date has a lasting meaning for history -- never again terror, war and genocide. We must remain vigilant."

On Sunday, President Horst Koehler will speak to a special assembly of both houses of parliament in a solemn address of remembrance for the Nazis' victims. It will also be broadcast on giant screens at the Brandenburg Gate a few hundred meters away.

The far-right NPD, or National Democratic Party, will march nearby under the motto: "60 years of lies about Germany's 'liberation' -- time to put an end to the cult of guilt." Most Germans view the end of the war as a day of liberation.

The NPD had petitioned to march through the gate, the city's landmark and a symbol of German unification, and past a new national memorial to the Holocaust next to it.

But the local city government rejected the application for a rally by the group at the historically sensitive location.

The NPD's legal challenges to that decision were rejected in a series of court decisions last week. Some 6,000 riot police are nevertheless bracing for anti-Nazi demonstrations and attempts by left-wing groups to disrupt the short NPD march.

The government has unsuccessfully tried to outlaw the NPD, but the party has skilfully exploited constitutional freedoms.

Interior Minister Otto Schily welcomed the court decisions banning the NPD from marching through Brandenburg Gate.

It's a disgrace, just a disgrace that a party like the NPD even exists with their Nazi ideas and public appearances with symbols that recall the Nazis," he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Organizers said 30,000 people took part in the chain of lights that briefly stretched across the city without interruption. While the inner city was packed with participants, some outlying parts were spread thin.

Source: Agencies