'Stupid' Nazi comments of Mirfield Tory councillor's son

Feb 9 2010 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A COUNCILLOR said his son was guilty of “youthful stupidity” after he likened young Conservatives to the Nazi term Sonderkommando.

Mirfield man David Bolt, 20, has been suspended from Conservative Future after comparing the group’s election strategy with Jewish prisoners forced to dispose of the dead in Nazi extermination camps.

Yesterday his father Martyn – deputy leader of Conservatives on Kirklees Council – explained that his son had not understood the historical meaning of the term Sonderkommando.

Clr Bolt said: “He overheard a conversation in a pub between two ex-Army officers who were talking about the Sonderkommando Hypo in Austria.”

The group was set up last year to investigate bank crime.

Clr Bolt said: “Apparently the term Sonderkommando is still used in Austria and Germany to mean special forces.”

However, the term also refers to groups of Jewish prisoners who were forced to dispose of the dead in Nazi extermination camps during the Holocaust.

David Bolt, who was chair of Conservative Future in West Yorkshire, used the term in an email to fellow activists last month.

He wrote: “In effect, we will form a CF Sonderkommando which will be available to blitz any areas which battleground PPCs (prospective parliamentary candidates) particularly wish to target, whether that be through canvassing, literature drops or visible, high-impact campaigning.

“It is time to intensify our assault on these most vulnerable of target seats, and follow the precept of Sun Tzu: ‘so in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.’”

But Clr Bolt said yesterday that his son was not aware of the history of the term.

The Mirfield councillor said: “It was youthful stupidity, it’s something he bitterly regrets. He used a word he had overheard without checking if it had any historical connotations.

“Had he done some basic research, I’m sure he wouldn’t have used that phrase. I’ve had a word with him telling him to always check background facts before making a statement.”

David Bolt was suspended from the Conservatives when party leaders found out about the email.