Berlin neo-Nazi march stopped

BERLIN - A neo-Nazi march in Berlin was stopped by thousands of anti-fascist demonstrators on Sunday after a tense standoff that overshadowed Germany's ceremonies marking the end of World War 2 in Europe 60 years ago. 

Berlin police said 6000 demonstrators opposed to the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) crowded into streets around Alexanderplatz square where 3300 right-wing extremists gathered to protest what they called a German "cult of guilt".  

Eager to prevent the violence that flares when leftists try to stop far-right marches, authorities ordered the NPD to stay at Alexanderplatz behind a buffer zone of barricades and police. Two hours later the NPD decided to abandon the march.  

Anti-Nazi demonstrators cheered when police announced on loudspeakers that the march was cancelled.  

"With peaceful means, the public showed these Nazis who were trying to glorify the greatest genocide in history will never again have any role in Germany," said Juergen Trittin, a minister in Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government.  

Holding one of their biggest rallies ever -- thanks to constitutional free speech guarantees -- the far-right then stayed at the Alexanderplatz square, where there were some scuffles with leftists who got close to barricades.  

Police arrested 42 people -- 32 leftists and 10 rightists -- for throwing bottles or using the outlawed "Hitler salute". There was also one firebomb thrown at the neo-Nazis. 

Most Germans see May 8, 1945 as a day of liberation. The motto of the anti-Nazi rally borrowed the word for "Thanks" in Russian: "Spasibo -- We say thank you." Some carried banners reading "Fascism never again" and "War never again".  

The NPD had wanted to march through the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of unification, and past a new Holocaust memorial.  

"This was not a day of 'liberation' but a day of defeat for Germany and it's nothing to celebrate," said NPD leader Udo Voigt.  

"Almost every German has relatives expelled from the east or a grandfather who was killed. We're here to mourn the millions of Germans killed in the war," he said.  

In a speech in parliament, President Horst Koehler said most Germans were relieved "and numbed" when the war ended.  

"There are unfortunately incorrigibles still among us who want a return to the racism and right-wing extremism," Koehler said. "But they don't have a chance."  

"We feel disgust and contempt for those guilty of these crimes against humanity who dishonoured our country."  

- REUTERS