SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE
66 rue Laugier - 75017 Paris - Tel. +33147237637 - Fax: +33147208401 csweurope@compuserve.com

Wiesenthal Centre Slams Antisemitic Hate in Kaliningrad - Urges Russian Enclave Governor to Close Outlets and Prosecute Distributor

Paris, 

In a letter to Kaliningrad Governor, Mr Georgiy Boos, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr Shimon Samuels, explained how "long intrigued by the impact of the European Union's encirclement of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad - the size of Belgium and the Netherlands," he spent last weekend in this city.

The letter continued, "Expecting enhanced development and an enlightened model for mainland Russia,  I was deeply shocked to discover only 100 meters from the city's largest hotel - the Kaliningrad - the bookshop 'Knizhni Mir' (though registered on its purchase receipt as 'Baltiskiy
Variant') at Ul. Zhitomirskaya, corner Leninsky Prospekt."

Samuels described how "the saleslady, Galina, enthusiastically explained:
'We specialize in books on Nazism and the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy', adding that 'my Director, Alexander Viktorevich, distributes this literature widely in Kaliningrad, especially editions for children.'"

He added, "On my two visits that day to both purchase and photograph a selection of the offending texts, especially notable was the presence of large numbers of teenage Russian clients."

Samuels noted that "on the other hand, the nearby Hotel Kaliningrad was bustling with elderly German guests on weekend train excursions. My brief conversations with five of these tourists would best describe them as 'pilgrims' to the pre-Soviet annexed territory of the Reich then called Konigsberg - a city once renowned for its imperial grandeur. Hotel staff confirmed that groups included 1945 expellees, many of whom sought directions to their lost properties."

The letter stressed to the Governor the irony that "in land liberated by the Red Army from the scourge of Fascism, Nazi-period German visitors are met - in Russian - with the hate propaganda of the Fuhrer!"

Attached photos showed a selection by the sales assistant Galina of the books on sale (she added that the classic "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and Henry Ford's "The International Jew" were "currently out of stock"):

- Yuri Kozenkov, Golgotha Rossi Zavoyevatila (Russian Golgotha Conquerors:
Zionism and Masonry, 1700-1924), 2006.
- Oleg Platonov, Voina protiv Antichrista (The War Against the Anti-Christ), 2006.
- Aleksei Menyaylov, Smotrite venimatelno, o Volki (Look Carefully, Wolves), 2005.
- Douglas Reed, Spor o Sione (Argument on Zion), 2005.
- Otto Neugard, Poldeni Magov (Noon of the Magi), 2004, a conspiracy theory regarding 9/11.
- Grigori Klimov, Imya Moye Legion (In the Name of My Legion), 2004.
- Viktor Ivanov, Bad People Out (Russian title unclear), 2001.
- A.Vesti, Buratino: Na Stupenyakh Masonskogo Khrama (Pinocchio: Steps to the Masonic Temple), 2004, a conspiracy theory regarding 9/11.

Samuels expressed amazement to learn that "a local Jewish complaint to the Kaliningrad Public Prosecutor, in regard to these sales, led to a demand for 65,000 Roubles to launch an investigation." He asked, "are we to therefore understand that the criminal justice system of the Kaliningrad region has been privatized?"

He continued, "In any case, an investigation is hardly necessary as Mr Viktorevich displays his hate materials on the shelves openly."

The Centre urged the Governor "to close Viktorevich's outlets forthwith and begin prosecution proceedings for his violation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on grounds of incitement."

A copy of this request was sent to the Federal Public Prosecutor of the Russian Federation in Moscow to investigate Viktorevich's Federal and international links and outreach.

Samuels concluded, "Mr Governor, your silence on this matter would dishonour the memory of the millions of Soviet victims in the war against Nazism - an ideology that targeted both the Jewish and the Russian peoples."

See two photos inserted.
For further information, please contact Shimon Samuels at +33.609.77.01.58