Holocaust comparison: Poinger Corona deniers convicted of sedition
Created: 03/15/2022, 19:01
By: Josef Ametsbichler
Since May 15, 2020, there has been a demonstration by opponents of the Corona measures at the Poinger S-Bahn station every Thursday.
© Stefan Rossmann
A comparison of the situation of opponents of vaccination and "Jewish half-breeds" in the Third Reich brought a Poinger Corona denier (54) a conviction for incitement to hatred.
Poing/Ebersberg –
Anyone who explores the boundaries of what can be said between tastelessness and crime should do better research than a 54-year-old from Poing did.
Demos by opponents of Corona measures take place there every Thursday.
At one of these, the man drew comparisons between the treatment of unvaccinated people and the persecution of Jews under National Socialism.
That's why he's facing a fine of over 4,000 euros for incitement to hatred.
As an opponent of vaccination "... like a half-breed of the second degree who is not a valid Jew"
"In the Third Reich, you feel like a half-breed of the second degree who is not a valid Jew," sounded the voice of the accused in the courtroom on Tuesday: District Judge Vera Hörauf played the corresponding recording from January 2021.
At that time, the incident in Poing caused outrage.
Mayor Thomas Stark condemned the comments.
At a counter-demonstration a few days later, around 200 people took to the streets.
Now the legal workup.
Public trivialization of Nazi crimes is a criminal offence.
On February 4, 2021, around 200 people demonstrated in Poing against right-wing hate speech and racism - in response to statements made at the anti-corona demo.
© Stefan Rossmann
It was missing: the accused, who still plays an active role in the Poinger corona denier scene to this day - was even partly celebrated for his "satire speech" in relevant chats.
He was represented by his defense attorney and thus missed the historical classification of his sentence.
Leading historian: Comparison with "massively racist and anti-Semitic persecuted group"
Professor Frank Bajohr, scientific director of the Munich Center for Holocaust Studies, was invited as an expert.
"The second-degree Mischlinge (people with a Jewish grandparent, also known as "quarter Jews" during the Nazi era, editor's note) were a massively racist and anti-Semitic group in the Third Reich," explained the historian.
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Ads for wearing the “Jewish Star” at Corona demos
Again and again some opponents of the Corona policy wear a "Jewish star" at demonstrations.
In the meantime, several courts in Germany have made it clear that this can be punishable.
In Thuringia, the police and judiciary have reacted to this.
Ads for wearing the “Jewish Star” at Corona demos
Outrage over anti-Jewish sentence - "Absolutely unacceptable"
An anti-Jewish statement made on the sidelines of a "walkers" demonstration in Murnau sparked outrage.
A cameraman was confronted with it in January.
Outrage over anti-Jewish sentence - "Absolutely unacceptable"
Not only were they subject to restrictions when it came to choosing a career, they were also not allowed to marry NSDAP members or each other, in order to prevent the “national body with Jewish blood from asserting itself”.
They lived in fear of becoming victims of the "final solution".
What's more, in the eastern regions they fell victim to mass killings like the "full Jews," as Nazis put it.
Defender calls statements "beyond any decency" - and pleads for acquittal
His defense attorney Udo Reissner admitted that his client's statements were "completely inappropriate and beyond any decency" - the speech to the Poinger opponents of the measures was also about the fact that children felt like the persecuted and murdered girl Anne Frank , Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community in Munich, was also the target of a dig.
Defense strategy: ignorance
Nevertheless, the lawyer pleaded for acquittal: "He says he didn't know," he said of his client.
While researching his speech on the Internet, he did come across restrictions on second-degree mixed races in terms of professional practice and public participation, but not the marriage obstacles put forward by the historian, which were intended to prevent their reproduction - and certainly not their murder in the eastern areas of the Third Reich.
The fact that an expert has been invited already shows that this involves specialist knowledge.
Judge finds guilty - defense attorney announces appeal
After some back and forth, Judge Vera Hörauf countered this argument by citing two Wikipedia articles (Jewish half-breed, validated Jew) on the terms used by the defendant.
The online encyclopedia is not the measure of all things, but "within a minute" the man should have realized when reading halfway reputable sources to which statements he was presumptuous.
She found the Poinger guilty.
His defense attorney announced that he would appeal.
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