RIGHT-WING ORGANISATIONS in Germany are now reporting what their national press is too cowardly to reveal: That the German police authorities have charged and arrested thousands of Germans, young and old, for expressing views regarded as incorrect under the present regime.

What in the United States would lead to a First Amendment outcry, and to appeals to the very highest courts in the land, is a commonplace in democratic Germany, fifty years after the country's liberation from dictatorship.

Junge Freiheit,  a moderate right-wing magazine, reveals that according to the proto-communist Verfassungsschutz  (Federal counter-intelligence agency: first chief, the ominous Soviet double-gent Otto John) there were no fewer than 7,949 criminal prosecutions in Germany during 1997 for "racial incitement" (Volksverhetzung) -- the catch-all penal code under which people who criticised establishment views of the Holocaust are charged.

For holding to wrong opinions, citizens find themselves slapped with a "criminal" record. On July 4, 1997 national newspaper Die Welt reported, without daring to comment, that the Federal agency reported an increase in "crimes" committed by right-wingers during 1996, with 8,730 offences being registered, almost two thirds of them so-called "propaganda offences."

During the last two years nearly fourteen thousand people have been prosecuted for expressing illegal opinons: imprisoned, fined, or otherwise penalised. This is around two hundred more political prisoners than China, and more than in the closing years of the infamous communist regime of East Germany.

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  Who are the symbols of the new German onslaught of repression again opposition politicians, publishers, and journalists -- the victims of wave after wave of prosecutions designed to ensure that these men never again seen the light of day?

1. Schoolteacher and ex NPD chairman Günter Deckert (he has already served fifty-five months in prison, for chairing a Weinheim lecture addressed by David Irving, and interpreting a talk by Fred Leuchter. Each time release is due, a fresh charge is brought). For his case follow these links:

2. Udo Walendy, political-economist. Twenty-nine months jail for publishing a brochure on historical facts. The ministry of the interior admitted in an affidavit to the assize court in Clogne that his publications were precisely researched and irrefutable. For his case follow these links:

3. Erhard Kemper, agricultural expert. Sentenced first to twelve months, and now to twelve months and nine months more for opinions expressed about the gas chamber controversy. For his case follow this link.

4. Andreas Thoben, trained engineer. At the end of July 1998 Thoben had to begin a jail term of seven months. New charges are already being drawn up against him, and he may well be facing several years of continued inprisonment. He had previously been subjected to up to four police raids on his home each week. For his case follow this link.

These are but four symbols of the persecution now rampant in the country which its government once proclaimed to be "the freest Germany in history."  

1997: »In der BRD wurden 1997 genau 7.949 Strafverfahren wegen "Volksverhetzung" (also reine Meinungsdelikte) abgewickelt.« (Quelle: Junge Freiheit, VS-Bericht)

1996: "Einen Anstieg vermeldet das Bundesamt bei der Zahl der rechtsextremistisch motivierten Straftaten: 1996 wurden 8730 registriert ... Fast zwei Drittel dieser Taten waren sogenannte Propagandadelikte." (Die Welt - 4. Juli 1997, Seite 5).

In zwei Jahren wurden im demokratischen Deutschland fast 14.000 Menschen wegen ihrer geäußerten Meinung verfolgt, inhaftiert oder zu Geldstrafen verurteilt. Das sind etwa 200 mehr, als derzeit in China politisch verfolgt sind. Das sind mehr, als in den letzten Jahren des DDR-Regimes verfolgt waren. Selbst in den letzten Jahren des Sowjetregimes gab es nicht soviele Verfolgungen wegen Meinungsäusserungen. Die Symbolfiguren des deutschen Verfolgungsterrors sind:

1. Günter Deckert (mittlerweile 55 Monate. Immer neue Prozesse werden gegen ihn geführt, um in als Oppositionspolitiker für immer auszuschalten. Sein Fall ist unter folgenden Dossiers dargestellt: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ]

2. Dipl. Pol. Udo Walendy. 29 Monate wegen der Publizierung geschichtlicher Tatsachen. Das Innenministerium hat in einem Schriftsatz an das Oberlandgericht Köln zugegeben, dass seine historischen Veröffentlichungen akribisch genau und nicht zu widerlegen sind. Sein Fall ist unter folgenden Dossiers einsehbar: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

3. Ing. Agr. Erhard Kemper. Kemper wurde nach 12 Monaten Gefängnis nunmehr zu weiteren 9 und zwölf Monaten wegen Äusserungen zur Gaskammerfrage verurteilt. Sein Fall ist einzusehen hier.

4. Dipl. Ing. Andreas Thoben. Andreas Thoben musste ende Juli 1998 eine Gefängnisstrafe von 7 Monaten antreten. Neue Verfahren sind gegen ihn bereits in Gang gesetzt, sodass auch er mit vielen Jahren Kerker rechnen muss. Thoben musste wöchentlich bis zu vier Hausdurchsuchungen erleiden. Sein Fall findet sich hier.

Diese vier Symbolfiguren stehen für annähernd 14.000 Verfolgungsopfer im "freiesten Deutschland, das es je gab".

Our opinion

REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICS OR BELIEFS, we shall not let the fate of these four men and the thousands of other victims out of our gaze. We urge our Website visitors, around the world to write to your German ambassadors and consuls, asking how many German and other citizens are currently held in German prisons for their beliefs. Mention the cases of these four men by name. Visit our pages [ 1 | 2 ] dedicated to honouring their memory and asking for Christian prayers for their well-being.