Far-right march to honour Hess

"We commemorate Rudolf Hess" the banner reads

About 800 right-wing extremists have marched through the Bavarian birthplace of Rudolph Hess, to mark the 14th anniversary of his death.

It was the first time authorities had allowed the march to go ahead in a decade, although there have regularly been other gatherings across Germany.

We must not get used to the continual sneaking increase of far-right violence

Paul Spiegel, president of the Central Council of Jews

Police said the march in the southern town of Wunsiedel went off without any violence.

Eleven neo-Nazis were detained but later released for carrying knives and iron bars.

Two people from a 150-strong counter-demonstration were also briefly held.

Hero

Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy until 1941, was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Nuremberg trials following World War 2.

He committed suicide in West Berlin's Spandau jail on 17 August 1987.

Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment

But some far-right groups have claimed him as a hero, alleging he was in fact killed by his British jailors.

Wunsiedel's cemetery became a pilgrimage site for German extremists, leading to a 1991 police ban on all gatherings.

Renewed worries

Saturday's march is likely to renew worries about Germany's smouldering problem of right-wing extremism and violence.

The country's interior ministry said police recorded 7,729 right-wing offences in the first half of this year, ranging from use of Nazi symbols to attacks.

About a quarter were hate crimes, mostly against foreigners and Jews.

Some 430 involved violence.

Paul Spiegel, president of the Central Council of Jews, told Welt am Sonntag newspaper the numbers were a warning.

"We must not get used to the continual sneaking increase of far-right violence," he said.

Hess was captured when he made a surprise and still disputed flight to Scotland, apparently to try and negotiate peace terms with the British.

He was imprisoned in a Welsh castle before being sent back to Germany.