Swedish teacher suspended over attending Holocaust meeting in Iran


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Thursday December 14, 2006

Stockholm- A Swedish computer science teacher who attended a controversial Holocaust conference in Iran earlier this week has been suspended, news reports said Thursday. The teacher, identified as Jan Bernhoff, had given a lecture where he alleged that 300,000 Jews died in the Holocaust during World War II as opposed to the number of six million commonly used by academics.

Although he did not teach history as a subject at the adult education college where he works in Stockholm, local politicians and the school management questioned if he could continue as a teacher.

"I think he will have a hard time at school since so many students and colleagues have contacted me about his participation at the conference," principle Britt-Marie Johansson told Swedish radio.

Johansson said a probe would be launched and in the meantime Bernhoff would be suspended.

Minister for Schools Jan Bjorklund, who is in charge of education issues in the cabinet, said the teacher's participation in the Iranian conference was "unacceptable," but that he had no constitutional right to intervene in the case.

The two-day conference in Tehran, sponsored by the Iranian government, was widely condemned.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency