Neo-Nazis deliberately chose the former grave of a musicologist of Jewish origin for the funeral of a well-known Holocaust denier.
The church let that go.
Berlin - The otherwise very quiet southwest cemetery in Stahnsdorf has now been the scene of a scandal.
The musicologist Max Friedlaender of Jewish origin found his final resting place here in 1934, but this was now disturbed by neo-Nazis.
The right-wing extremists specifically chose his grave to bury a well-known Holocaust denier from among their ranks.
The church made a mistake with the approval, as the
research network Berlin
and the portal
Blick nach rechts
discovered.
Failure of the Church: How the Failure came about
Last Friday, a well-known shoal denier and neo-Nazi was buried at the south-west cemetery in Stahnsdorf. Ironically on the grave of the Jewish-born Protestant and scholar Max Friedlander. The grave is said not to have been chosen by chance, but rather as a provocation. "The intention here is obvious that right-wing extremists have deliberately chosen a Jewish grave in order to disturb the peace of the dead by burying a Holocaust denier," said Samuel Salzborn, the anti-Semitism officer in Berlin, as reported by the German press agency. At the Stahnsdorf cemetery it is possible to sponsor historical tombs. As early as 1980 Friedlaender's grave had become vacant for reclamation.The former Berlin NPD state chairman Uwe Meenen took advantage of this regulation and bought the grave site for the now buried neo-Nazi as an authorized representative. Meenen had previously collected money for this purpose.
Originally he had asked for another, more centrally located grave of a Jew, this selection was rejected by the church. The fact that the church released Friedlaender's grave "was also a mistake". The explosiveness was not recognized in advance. The right-wing extremist attitudes of the deceased Holocaust denier were known to the church. Friedlaender's grave was still released by the church because it relied exclusively on the burial register in which the scholar of Jewish origin with a Protestant denomination was entered. The reported
look to the right.
According to the Church, everyone has the right to a final resting place.
50 right-wing extremist mourners attended the neo-Nazi's funeral, including the neo-Nazi Horst Mahler.
The bows and flowers on the grave also used radical right-wing symbolism.
Central Council of Jews outraged, Church tries to undo mistakes
The President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, was outraged: "The burial of a neo-Nazi and chocolate denier on the former grave of the Jewish musicologist Max Friedlaender is unbearable," said Schuster on Twitter. Bishop Christian Stäblein agreed with him. He spoke of a "terrible mistake", a "desecration of the grave of Max Friedlaender" and a "shocking event in view of our history". You have to try immediately whether and what you can undo. “I will review any legal action that could reverse the process. In any case, I will ensure that we keep an honorable memory for Max Friedlaender in this cemetery, ”said Stäblein from the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO).
At the burial of the Holocaust denier, a well-known citizen of the Reich was arrested who was wanted with two arrest warrants. Peter Schüler, the head of the Brandenburg anti-Semitism department, warned: "The grave of Max Friedlaender must by no means become a place of pilgrimage for anti-Semites, so the implementation of the urn is urgently required." to have spoken to the church: "Those responsible have given credible assurance that they will work up the case thoroughly internally and create structures in the future so that something like this no longer happens."
Meanwhile, the federal government warned of the danger from the right.
The number of right-wing terrorist attacks like that of Halle could grow due to the Corona crisis.
In 2019 there were three times more crimes with a right-wing extremist background than with left-wing extremist crimes in Germany.
This emerges from the report for the protection of the constitution in 2020.
Right-wing extremism is also at least ten times as dangerous.
Particularly right-wing networks in the police and armed forces have to be kept an eye on, demand experts.
Jews in Germany also struggle with anti-Semitism in everyday life, as the example of Gil Ofarim shows.
