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American Tourist Assaulted After Reportedly Doing Nazi Salute In Germany

American Tourist Assaulted After Reportedly Doing Nazi Salute In Germany

He's been detained while the alleged attacker is being sought by police.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Following World War Two, Germany introduced a raft of rules as a part of its denazification process; one of those being the banishment of Nazi symbols including the swastika and the salute.

But an American didn't think it was taboo to perform a salute on the streets of Dresden.

The foreigner, who was reportedly drunk, was walking through the eastern Neustadt district of the city around 8:15am and repeatedly made the gesture.

The salute grabbed the attention of a passerby, who decided to assault the 41-year-old, leaving him with minor injuries. The American is now under investigation for breaking Germany's strict laws, while police are also searching for the person who carried out the attack.

German and American flags
German and American flags

Credit: PA

Authorities detained two Chinese tourists earlier this month in Berlin for doing the same thing. They were reportedly walking near the Reichstag, snapping photos of themselves performing the Nazi salute.

The 36 and 39-year-olds were charged and fined €500 (£454).

The assault on the American man comes as the United States deals with the aftermath of bitter protests involving white nationalists and Neo-Nazis. Charlottesville, Virginia was at the centre of a tense stand-off between demonstrators and counter-protestors when a group conducted a 'Unite the Right' rally, with many carrying torches and some wearing Confederate flags or Nazi symbols.

Rally in Virginia
Rally in Virginia

Credit: PA

The next day, people opposing the gathering staged a counter-protest which turned violent.

Hours later, a car, allegedly driven by 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr, ploughed into a crowd of counter-protestors, killing a woman and injuring more than a dozen others.

President Donald Trump was heavily criticised for taking so long to issue a statement on the matter, especially considering his wife Melania beat him to it.

President Trump addressed the unfolding incident in a speech, but was again criticised for not specifically calling out the white supremacist movement.

One of the most vocal critics was Charlottesville mayor, Michael Signer, who told CNN: "Look at the campaign he ran. Look at the intentional courting, both on the one hand all of these white supremacist, white nationalist groups like that, anti-Semitic groups, and then look on the other hand the repeated failure to step up and condemn, denounce, silence, put to bed, all of those different efforts just like we saw yesterday, and this is not hard."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Berlin, Germany, Nazi

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