Documents on David Irving's Persecution by the German authorities 1989-1993

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David Irving's "conviction" in absentia by a Munich court for stating on April 21, 1990 that gas chamnber shown to Auschwitz-I tourists is a fake (later admitted by the Poles to be true).
Canadian translation from German

No. 232 J 13 Ja 3019/90
Munich District Court
July (?) 17 (?), 1991 (original illegible) [sic]

Mr. David I r v i n g
born on March 24, 1938 in London/England
British, single, historian
resident at 81 Duke Street, London/England

Defense Attorney v. Sprenger, Ohmstr. 1, 8000 München 40 Power of Attorney: Bl 106

Conviction

The investigations conducted by the prosecuting attorney's office revealed the following facts of the case:

On April 21, 1990, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., a meeting of the Deutsches Judenbildungswerk (=Youth Educational Service) was held in the Löwenbräukeller on the Stiglmeierplatz in Munich; you were one of the speakers at this meeting. Among other things, your speech contained the following statement: "By now we know - and I'm sure I don't need to point this out as anything more than an aside - that there were never any gas chambers in Auschwitz." Further, you stated: "We believe that, just as the gas chambers which the Americans put up here in Dachau in the first few days after the war were fakes, those gas chamber facilities which tourists can now sightsee in Auschwitz were set up by Polish authorities after the Second World War... Since, after all, the German taxpayers have had to shell out no less than 16 billion Deutschmark as penalty for Auschwitz... for a fake."
   You are therefore charged with publicly slandering another person's honour by your deliberate declaration of disdain or lack of regard, and with having disparaged the memory of a deceased by this same action,
   actions which are punishable as slander concomitant with the disparagement of the memory of deceased persons under §§ 185, 189, 194 Sections 1, 2, 52 of the German Criminal Code.

Evidence Witnesses: Peter Köpf (Bl 21), Michael Schmid, 6200 Wiesbaden, Beistadter Str. 22.
Documents: Excerpt from the Federal Central Register. Other evidence: one videotape.

On the request of the prosecuting attorney's office, a fine of 70 daily rates is imposed. The daily rate is set at DM 100. - - . The fine thus totals DM 7,000.- - .

[Trans. note: The remainder is a largely blank form, twice dated and signed: July 17, 1991, Judge Distler, and August 19, 1991, Schwarz.]

 

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