Canadian youth hockey coach fired for pro-Nazi propaganda

Minor hockey might be one of the most inclusive of all youth sports, welcoming all players regardless of gender, color or sexual orientation. But Nazis? Well, that's where they draw the line.

According to a report in Surrey Now, the North Delta Minor Hockey Association in British Columbia fired coach Christopher Maximilian Sandau from its rep hockey program over the weekend after learning his Facebook page was basically a tribute to the Third Reich.

"The posts contained extreme and objectionable material believed to be incompatible with an important purpose of our minor hockey association — to promote and encourage good citizenship," Anita Cairney, president of the NDMH, said in a prepared statement.

"You can't be a Nazi and coach kids hockey," one parent said.

The paper got a look at Sandau's since-deleted Facebook page and discovered some pretty abhorrent material. Among the "highlights:" a swastika over which Sandau wrote "may god be with us and the truth prevail," and a Photoshopped image of an astronaut standing on the moon, doing a "sieg heil" salute to a Nazi flag.

Sandau, 33, insists he's not a Nazi, just "a big history buff" who says that millions died because of typhus and not the Holocaust. In fact, he claims "the Germans were actually doing their best to save the lives" of those victims.

"These people were not that evil that we were told," he said.

He understands though why his views weren't welcomed by the community at large.

"I get it," he said. "It's a really touchy subject."

Sandau said he played pro hockey in Germany. Eurohockey.com lists a Chris Sandau who played eight seasons from 2000-10 in various German minor leagues. Hockeydb also lists a Chris Sandau who played one season in the All-American Hockey League.