Austrian Politician in Nazi Row

An Austrian politician complained yesterday that Nazis were persecuted in postwar Austria and described Austrian soldiers who deserted from the Wehrmacht as "murderers of comrades".

Siegfried Kampl, who is due to become the president of the upper house of Austria's parliament in three months and who is an associate of the far-right leader Jörg Haider, caused a storm of controversy by denouncing Austrians who deserted the Nazi military.

"I know what I'm talking about," he told Austrian state radio. "My mother had died. There were five of us children. In 1945 they came and hauled my father away."

He also complained about the "arrogance" of the allies in Austria after the war. Asked if his father was a Nazi party member, he said: "More than 99% were."

Opposition Social Democrats and Greens demanded that Mr Kampl be denied the parliamentary presidency in July. The controversy could also hurt Mr Haider, who is infamous for past pro-Hitler views but who is now rebranding himself as a moderate and has launched a new party.

Mr Kampl's remarks feed into a row about how deserters should be treated. Unlike in Germany where Nazi deserters were rehabilitated in 2002, they are still stigmatised in Austria. While SS veterans, for example, qualify for state pensions for the war years, deserters do not.

In 25 cases, Austrian deserters have sought compensation but the courts threw out 24 of the pleas.

"I am not saying all deserters are murderers, only those who murdered their comrades," Mr Kampl said. Ian Traynor, Zagreb