Austrian newspaper apologises after printing a deceased man's Nazi rank on his death notice

The announcement of Lois Plock's death noted he was an 'Untersturmfuehrer'

A Nazi rally in 1933 - it is illegal to glorify the Nazi past in Austria (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A major Austrian newspaper has apologised for printing a death notice that carried the Nazi elite troop rank of the deceased.

The announcement of the death of Lois Plock in the Kleine Zeitung noted that he was an "Untersturmfuehrer" - a paramilitary rank of Hitler's special SS forces. SS members served as Hitler's bodyguard and formed elite units that carried out many of the era's Holocaust crimes and other atrocities.

The announcement also listed a Nazi-era decoration of the deceased and carried a verse associated with the oath of loyalty sworn by Nazi troops to the German dictator.

Glorifying the Nazi past is a crime in Austria. Chief Editor Hubert Patterer apologized for printing the notice on Sunday, one day after it appeared. He called it a "horrible mistake."

Associated Press