Echoes of the 30s as rabbi warns German Jews not to wear identifiable religious symbols after spate of neo-Nazi attacks

Jews living near the German capital Berlin are being warned not to wear items of clothing that identify their religion as fears of neo-Nazi attacks rise.

Sixty five years after the end of World War Two and the Holocaust, a leading rabbi in the state of Brandenburg is urging Jews not to wear yarmulkes (skullcaps), traditional long coats, hats or other 'identifying symbols'.

Brandenburg, the state which surrounds Berlin, is a hotbed of neo-Nazi activity and its new chief rabbi Shaul Nekrich said its streets are no longer safe for Jews.

'I think the state has a problem with anti-Semitism,' he said. 'Even if I haven't been here for very long... I hear the stories from the communities.

'They are wary of being recognised as Jews on the streets.'

Formerly from Russia, Rabbi Nekrich said he had been accosted on a train in Brandenburg by drunks three years ago.

'I'm not saying that they were neo-Nazis,' he told a Berlin newspaper. 'But they had very short hair.

'I had started to read a prayer book when one of the men approached me, asked if it was written in Hebrew and then threw it on the ground.

'I got out at the next station and took at taxi the rest of the way home.

'As a Jew it is dangerous to wear things that identify you as such unless you are well versed in martial arts.'

The rabbi said he had not reported the incident because 'it makes no sense'.

In the six areas where he is responsible for teaching there are some 1,300 Jews.

After reunification Brandenburg became the fulcrum of neo-Nazi activity in Germany.

Skinheads invaded campsites, chased black people to their deaths, firebombed refugee asylums and marched in menacing groups flying the imperial battle flags of the Kaiser.

Towns like Bernau or Schwedt gained a reputation as 'brown towns' - after the brown shirts that the original Nazis wore during their rise to power - and tourist guides declared whole sections of the state 'no-go areas' for foreigners.

Brandenburg has led initiatives aimed at reducing the support for neo-Nazis in the state.

Antje Grabley, a spokesman for the state's Culture Ministry, said: 'The state government is doing everything it can to ensure that Jewish life again belongs to everyday life in Brandenburg.'

Ms Grabley said that a 2009 study showed anti-Semitic tendencies in the state were the lowest in Germany.

The State Office of Criminal Investigation said the total number of crimes motivated by anti-Semitism had also dropped in 2009 and 2010.

One of the most shocking crimes in the state occurred in 1999 when a baying mob of neo-Nazis chased 28-year-old Algerian asylum seeker Farid Guendoul through the streets of Guben.

They ended up pushing him through a plate glass window and gave Nazi salutes as he bled to death in 15 minutes.