At the dawn of the 21st Century, Germany still pursues its uneasy search for free speech, imprisoning editors with politically incorrect views.

Sleipnir-Verlag, Berlin, announces:

Sentenced to Six Months - for What?

Hitler-Stalin-Traditions in Berlin Resurrected?

Andreas Röhler writes: IN MY closing speech before being sentenced to jail by the judge Mrs Justice Brinkmann for "inciting to hate" [Germany's catch all new law for the suppresison of free speech] I mentioned two facts: The suggestion of the prosecutor that there are two kinds of historians, on one side the revisionists, which are to be fought with all means available, and on the other the "good historians" who leave everything as it is desired by those in power, i.e. the politically correct, is sheer madness.

History, like any science if it wants to be pursued seriously and professionally, must have its foundations and yields questioned and revised incessantly. There are no unmovable facts; everything is subject to examination and constantly widened knowledge.

This basic rule of scientific work is supposed to be protected by law even in Germany. However, to raise certain political questions of history is an undesirable opinion in the same Germany and threatened with heavy punishment. Knowing this, I have never distributed any publications which have been part of penal court trials and judgements. I have kept any such material under my own supervision and under lock and key; I have leased it to persons only who could prove a scientific interest and for their own professional use- after obtaining a written declaration by the prospective borrower.

The written declarations by the persons concerned were presented to the court, but the judge simply ignored them. She rejected any proof of my solicitude out of hand. Instead she followed the completely fabricated assertions of the state prosecutor, that I intended to disseminate these few writings - altogether just 18 pieces. Not even my remark was listened to, that the writings in question concern only some technical aspects of killings in a wider historical context.

Just as well it could not make any impression, that a number of well known Jewish researchers (as allegedly the Jewish minority is to be protected by this sort of court cases) assert the same ideas which are punishable by courts in Germany. Thus we have the odd fact that these same courts are not ashamed in refusing to acknowledge Jewish opinion whenever it suits them: Noam Chomsky's statements confirmed my legal position, so did those of Arno J. Mayer in "Der Krieg als Kreuzzug" ("Why did the Heavens not Darken- The Final Solution in History").

The whole trial before that judge was a farce. There occurred numerous transgressions of the penal court proceeding rules by her, many offences against the press laws and, of course, against the Basic Law of Germany. The defence attorney, Carsten Schrank, cited them in detail and made an impressive final speech.

Naturally, before this kind of judiciary in present day Germany, it was all in vain.

Zeitschrift fuer Kultur, Geschichte und Politik, Sleipnir im Verlag der Freunde, Andreas Roehler (V.i.S.d.P.), Postfach 350264, 10211 Berlin, Tel./Fax: (49/0/30)-42857835 und -6927863 eMail: [email protected]; http://neptune.spaceports.com/~sleipnir or http://www.freespeech.org/sleipnir/