Austria braced for WWII protests

VIENNA, Austria -- Austrian police expect up to 30,000 to take to the streets in rival protests to mark the end of World War II and the surrender of Germany.

Over 2,000 police officers were deployed across Vienna on Wednesday to prevent clashes between left-wing activists and far-right extremists.

The Nazis surrendered on May 7, 1945, and the next day was declared Victory in Europe Day.

The 57th anniversary comes amid heightened tension in some parts of Europe over the emergence of the far-right and in the wake of the murder of a leading Dutch politician. (Full story)

Most of the demonstrators were expected to be those celebrating the end of Nazi rule and protesting against others who planned to mourn the death of Nazi soldiers.

Earlier on Wednesday, right-wing students laid a wreath at the central Heldenplatz -- or Heroes' Square -- in honour of the Austrian and German soldiers who died during the war.

The ceremony in the square, where Adolf Hitler once addressed hundreds of thousands of rapturous Austrians shortly after Austria's incorporation into Nazi Germany, had been quietly brought forward several hours from the original start time.

Vienna's mayor, Michael Haeupl, has said he would not allow neo-Nazi and other right-wing extremists to march through the city, saying it would be "unbearable and scandalous" if such a rally took place.

Chancellor Schuessel has appealed for calm

He said he would "not tolerate that old and new Nazis are allowed to march unhindered through the city on May 8, and that a historic date which is a reason for joy for all democrats is converted into an act of mourning."

Wolfgang Jung, of the far-right Freedom Party, said he planned to speak to the crowds later in the day in honour of the victims of the world wars.

"I am giving a speech to commemorate those who fell in both world wars, and not a speech about the Third Reich," the Austria Press Agency quoted Jung as saying.

Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel has called for "restraint and good sense" and urged protesters not to turn Austria into a "nation caricatured as violent."

Schuessel said: "Violence always produces counter-violence. We cannot allow democratic freedom to be abused in Austria.

"In the interests of Austria, I therefore call for restraint and good sense."