Hitler produced thousands of paintings as a young struggling artist before joining the Bavarian Army at the outbreak of World War I
Students in Germany are reportedly greetingeach other with 'Heil Hitler' Getty

A Nazi scandal has engulfed a school in Germany after students were found greeting each other performing 'Heil Hitler' salutes and making anti-Jewish remarks.

Teenage pupils from class 9A at the Landsberg Gymnasiums near Leipzig, are being investigated by police after photos on a secret WhatsApp group revealed them carrying out Nazi salutes, wearing Hitler moustaches, and sharing other anti-semitic slurs.

One student is alleged to have made a Holocaust joke which asked "why did Hitler kill himself? The Jews sent him the gas bill."

The WhatsApp conversations have since been handed over to the police for investigation while two teenagers are being questioned. Another child is also due to be investigated when the school returns from half-term next week.

Parents are said to be disgusted that a select group in this particular class could tarnish the reputation of the rest of the pupils.

Eli Gampel, 54, who has a son in the class, told German newspaper Bild: "These discussions about the Nazi class from Landsberg are a load of rubbish. I thought it was a bad dream when I opened newspapers and read the article."

Gampel, the former head of the local Halle Jewish Community, said that his son had been targeted at schools.

"My son told me that someone had stuck a far-right NPD [National Democratic Party] sticker on his jacket. It was well known, it seems, that he was Jewish.

"I have made a formal complaint with police for an investigation, but on the other hand it would definitely be the wrong thing to simply accuse the entire class and tar them with the same brush."

The school's headteacher, Lutz Feudel, said everyone was in shock about the actions of the pupils but he said they were limited to one class.

"Breaking taboos is part of young adulthood. I don't believe that they wanted to actively promote neo-Nazi ideology."

It is a criminal offence in Germany to make any public display of Nazi symbols, salutes or sayings, and can carry a sentence of up to six months in jail.

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