German schoolboys aged 14 formed secret neo-Nazi fanclub and used 'Heil Hitler' greetings

German prosecutors are investigating an entire class of German schoolchildren after they set up a secret neo-Nazi fanclub.

Boys aged just 14 at the school near Leipzig have grown Hitler style moustaches and even greet each other with ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes as part of the secret organisation they founded together.

Teachers and parents apparently knew nothing of what they were doing because the students kept it hidden by communicating mainly through WhatsApp.

Prosecutor Andreas Schieweck, 59, has confirmed they are investigating allegations that the pupils glorified the crimes of the Third Reich.

He said two pupils in class 9A at Landaberg School near Leipzig were currently under investigation. There were a total of 29 boys and girls in the class, all aged either 14 or 15-years-old.

The investigation was launched after it was revealed that the social media messages they were sharing included references to Hitler as a 'fantastic person'. They would start comments with each other by writing Deutschland – Sieg Heil! and also shared sick jokes such as: 'Why did Hitler kill himself? The Jews sent him a gas bill.'

Because of the age of the pupils, officials have confirmed that specially trained psychologists are now at the school to meet parents and the children to discuss the problem.

Germany regards any glorification of the Third Reich - including the use of Hitler salutes - as illegal and punishable by jail terms, though in this case the age of the pupils also needs to be taken into account.

The school headmaster Lutz Feudel said the entire school had been shocked about the secret Nazi sympathisers, whom he said were confined to one class.

He said parents of two of the children had been invited to a discussion together with their children, but that a third who they wanted to speak to was on holiday in Spain with their parents.

He added he did not want to instantly accuse the children, saying: 'Breaking taboos is part of young adulthood. I don't believe that they wanted to actively promote neo-Nazi ideology.'

Dad Eli Gampel, 54, who has a son in the class, said: 'My boy told me that on the hood of his jacket someone had stuck a far-right NPD [National Democratic Party] sticker. It was well known it seems that he was Jewish.'

'It was on this basis that 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. These discussions about the Nazi class from Landsberg are a load of rubbish.'

Gampel, the former head of the local Halle Jewish Community, added: 'I thought it was a bad dream when I opened newspapers and read the article.'

He said however that it seemed a massive taboo had been imposed in the class banning anybody including his son from talking about it.

He said: 'Even after I read about it, I found it difficult to get him to talk about what went on. It was only through a lengthy discussion that he admitted what was in the newspaper article was essentially true.'

And David Begrich who works in Germany as part of a government department fighting against right-wing extremism said: 'It is definitely the time now for education officials to get involved and not prosecutors.

There needs to be very clear conversations with all those in the class and they don't need to be worried about the consequences in order for the truth to come out.'