In Larnaca, Vergina Lyceum students posed with Nazi symbols — parents demanded intervention

The Federation of Secondary Education Parents of Larnaca stated the inadmissibility of ideologies of hatred in schools after photos were published showing students of Vergina Lyceum posing with Nazi symbols and performing Nazi salutes.

Federation president Kostas Costa, commenting on the material, said that relevant complaints had been received by the organization and that a social media account named Verginazi had been created. He called on the Cyprus Ministry of Education to intervene and examine these cases.

The federation’s statement emphasizes that any references to the Nazi past and symbols associated with the murder of millions of people must be condemned. At the same time, it notes that the actions of individual students discredit the majority of pupils who show activity in sports, culture, and public life.

In the published images, graduates are shown inside school premises next to drawn swastikas and performing Nazi salutes. In one of the photos, students are holding a plaque installed after a tree-planting event conducted by the Jewish Community of Cyprus; on the plaque, the word “children” was painted over and a Nazi symbol was added on top.