פחיות ציקלון B
פחיות ציקלון Bצילום: רויטרס

A Czech children's volleyball group was named "Cyklon B" after the gas used to murder millions of Jews in Nazi gas chambers during World War Two. The group is taking part in a volleyball tournament between Czech orphanages

The head of a participating institute explained that the name "Cyklon B" was chosen by a participating youngster, and was not changed in time.

Jindra Machačová, president of the organization which organized the tournament, apologized for the error.

The Czech Freedom Fighters Association also condemned the use of the name, and explained that it was a mistake, caused mainly by "adults' ignorance."

Tomas Jelinek, former head of the Prague Jewish community, told daily newspaper Pravo that the Cyklon B group represented an orphanage in eastern Prague which competed mainly against a Romany group.

The Romanys, commonly called gypsies, were nearly decimated completely by the Nazis.

Cyklon B pellets were put into the gas chambers in Nazi concentration camps in rooms that looked like showers to the victims, who were told to undress for showering. The cyanide-based pellets turned gaseous when exposed to oxygen. Some victims died immediately, but others continued suffering for twenty minutes until they finally died.