Israel Matzav

Video: European Parliament Vice President calls customs officials Nazis, shouts Heil Hitler at Frankfurt Airport

I would love to see video of the actual incident....

European Parliament Vice President Jacek Protasiewicz, who is Polish, made a drunken scene at Frankfurt's airport on Wednesday, calling customs officials Nazis and shouting at them "Heil Hitler," according to reports in the German media.

Let's go to the videotape. More after the video (which is a Polish news report).

According to German daily Bild, the Polish politician disembarked from a plane at the airport, visibly drunk, and then caught the attention of customs officials when he stole a man's baggage cart and sprinted toward the exit.

When the officials asked Protasiewicz for identification, he began to hurl insults at them, calling them names such as "Hitler" and "Nazi," asking them, "Were you ever in Auschwitz?" Bild reported.

The German daily quoted an eyewitness as saying "the man appeared to be very drunk when he shouted in English that he was from the EU."

Police were then called to the scene, forcibly removing Protasiewicz in handcuffs when he refused to accompany them peacefully.

The German daily noted that Protasiewicz enjoys immunity as a member of the European Parliament and is therefore unlikely to face prosecution.

Polish news portal RMF 24 quoted Protasiewicz as denying being drunk and explaining that he was responding to the rude behavior of a Frankfurt Airport official.

Protasiewicz said that he showed the official his documentation upon request. "When he saw my diplomatic passport, he was displeased that he could not demonstrate his power over me, a passenger from Eastern Europe. Giving me the passport he used the word "raus" [out]. This word worked on me a bit like a red rag to a bull. I'm still from the generation that remembers the atmosphere of post-war [Europe] and "raus" in Poland is associated with German arrogance, not with a polite civil servant.

According to Protasiewicz, he explained to the customs official that "raus" in Poland has associations like "Heil Hitler." He continued: "This upset the officer. He started to push me, so I said to him that before using force, let him consider Auschwitz. Auschwitz, because it is the best lesson in humility."

When asked about reports that he was drunkenly staggering and stammering, Protasiewicz claimed that he has only had one glass of wine on the plane.

Must have been an awfully big glass....

Those Europeans... they're so dignified.... 

Labels: Adolph Hitler, European Parliament, European Union, Nazis

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:23 PM