1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,054 Banned speech, banned evidence and banned legal defence. 2 00:00:06,602 --> 00:00:10,430 The reality of "Free Speech". 3 00:00:26,896 --> 00:00:29,834 Our last speaker of the day will be lecturing on 4 00:00:29,834 --> 00:00:37,540 banned speech, banned evidence and even a ban on legal defence in court. 5 00:00:37,540 --> 00:00:40,584 On top of everything else, being banned from defending yourself in court 6 00:00:40,584 --> 00:00:43,872 constitutes a particularly disturbing problem. 7 00:00:43,872 --> 00:00:49,969 This speaker is a fully qualified lawyer and throughout her lecture 8 00:00:49,969 --> 00:00:55,435 I find it of particular importance, that we don't let our judgement be influenced 9 00:00:55,435 --> 00:01:01,186 by what our eyes and ears have already been shown or told. 10 00:01:01,186 --> 00:01:11,135 She really made the headlines a few years ago as a defence attorney. 11 00:01:11,135 --> 00:01:17,627 So, let me briefly explain whom we are dealing with. 12 00:01:22,415 --> 00:01:28,006 This defence lawyer has the courage of the lion. 13 00:01:28,006 --> 00:01:33,556 She is stronger than a man, and I have never met a woman with such a profile. 14 00:01:33,556 --> 00:01:41,951 She bravely stood up and took it upon herself to defend Ernst Zündel 15 00:01:41,951 --> 00:01:45,839 in the famous case against him for so-called Holocaust denial. 16 00:01:45,839 --> 00:01:50,482 She was the trial lawyer of Ernst Zündel. 17 00:01:50,482 --> 00:01:59,202 During the legal proceedings she provided evidence to the court 18 00:01:59,202 --> 00:02:06,732 which could raise doubts regarding the official account of history. 19 00:02:06,732 --> 00:02:12,008 This caused furore in the courtroom. 20 00:02:12,008 --> 00:02:18,229 And she was prohibited from speaking any further. 21 00:02:18,229 --> 00:02:24,555 This speech ban was ordered as she was presenting the arguments of the defendant. 22 00:02:24,555 --> 00:02:30,461 She was not allowed to argue the case and barred from listing more evidence. 23 00:02:30,461 --> 00:02:37,358 She ignored the speech ban and continued to submit evidence. 24 00:02:37,358 --> 00:02:41,927 And was then threatened with penalties if she persisted. 25 00:02:46,276 --> 00:02:52,106 As it became too much for the authorities, 26 00:02:52,118 --> 00:02:56,516 she was arrested right there in the courtroom 27 00:02:56,516 --> 00:03:03,207 during her defence of the so-called Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel. 28 00:03:03,207 --> 00:03:05,922 But not even this could silence her; 29 00:03:05,922 --> 00:03:10,478 she continued to argue the case of her defendant 30 00:03:10,478 --> 00:03:18,736 while being forcefully removed from the courtroom. 31 00:03:18,736 --> 00:03:23,005 For this she was imprisoned for almost three and a half years, 32 00:03:23,005 --> 00:03:27,779 in spite of her having no previous convictions. 33 00:03:27,779 --> 00:03:33,000 Arrested in the courtroom and locked up. 34 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:39,005 On top of this, she had to face 5 years of professional exclusion 35 00:03:39,005 --> 00:03:43,250 through cancellation of her licence to work as an attorney, 36 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:47,887 and was removed from the Association for German Lawyers. 37 00:03:47,887 --> 00:03:54,581 They threw her out, but we would like to carry her into our midst. 38 00:03:54,581 --> 00:03:57,558 I urge you to help her along. 39 00:03:57,558 --> 00:04:02,072 (Applause) 40 00:04:04,135 --> 00:04:09,818 We are talking about a legend here, making headlines across Europe. 41 00:04:09,818 --> 00:04:12,236 Welcome Sylvia Stolz. 42 00:04:12,236 --> 00:04:15,829 Frau Sylvia Stolz, if they wouldn't let you speak there, here you can. 43 00:04:15,829 --> 00:04:19,253 We trust you to know the limitations, 44 00:04:19,253 --> 00:04:21,553 I am sure you do. 45 00:04:21,553 --> 00:04:24,787 Much success with your speech, our hearts swell for you. 46 00:04:24,787 --> 00:04:27,473 Sylvia Stolz: Thank you for the warm welcome. 47 00:04:31,916 --> 00:04:41,650 Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends, thank you again for the warm welcome. 48 00:04:41,650 --> 00:04:47,893 I would like to begin my presentation with one sentence, 49 00:04:47,893 --> 00:04:53,890 with the same one with which I will end. 50 00:04:53,890 --> 00:05:01,956 Since I believe that this sentence is at the heart of human existence, 51 00:05:01,956 --> 00:05:08,259 and gives, I believe, what it means to be human. 52 00:05:08,259 --> 00:05:14,898 "To think what is true, to sense what is beautiful, 53 00:05:14,898 --> 00:05:18,766 and to want what is good, 54 00:05:18,766 --> 00:05:25,026 hereby the spirit finds the purpose of a life in reason." 55 00:05:25,026 --> 00:05:29,627 This is a quote from Johann Gottfried von Herder: 56 00:05:32,266 --> 00:05:34,305 To think what is true, 57 00:05:34,305 --> 00:05:37,760 [what is true, not what was, which sound the same in German] 58 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,030 "To think what is true, to sense what is beautiful, 59 00:05:41,030 --> 00:05:45,700 and to want what is good." 60 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:50,694 Regardless of your religion, your worldview 61 00:05:50,694 --> 00:05:54,899 or philosophical orientation, 62 00:05:54,899 --> 00:05:58,630 this sentence encapsulates the essence of human life, in my opinion 63 00:05:58,630 --> 00:05:59,891 the "a" and "o", 64 00:05:59,891 --> 00:06:02,204 the alpha and omega. 65 00:06:04,802 --> 00:06:12,291 And one's actions show how one fulfils this human ideal, 66 00:06:12,291 --> 00:06:15,803 one's actions and one's behaviour. 67 00:06:15,803 --> 00:06:20,264 The first ideal is the predominant one, 68 00:06:20,264 --> 00:06:24,016 "To think what is true," 69 00:06:24,016 --> 00:06:28,445 for only on truth can one build. 70 00:06:28,445 --> 00:06:35,856 When one builds on something untrue, when one builds on something false, 71 00:06:35,856 --> 00:06:39,345 it might stand for a while, 72 00:06:39,345 --> 00:06:46,273 but at some time it must, of itself, collapse. 73 00:06:46,273 --> 00:06:51,675 It is like trying to erect a building 74 00:06:51,675 --> 00:07:00,187 with a foundation of papier mâché rather than proper stone 75 00:07:00,187 --> 00:07:04,432 or proper concrete. 76 00:07:12,349 --> 00:07:17,325 An important notion in relation to the question 77 00:07:17,325 --> 00:07:23,266 "true thinking" or "finding the truth" is: 78 00:07:23,266 --> 00:07:26,866 Hear the other side. 79 00:07:26,866 --> 00:07:33,544 That is an ideal that is paid particular attention to here. 80 00:07:33,544 --> 00:07:40,265 It is an old established principle of law: audiatur et altera pars, 81 00:07:40,265 --> 00:07:44,559 the other side is to be heard. 82 00:07:44,559 --> 00:07:50,343 To be heard in court and also in science 83 00:07:50,343 --> 00:07:55,407 when there are two different opinions. 84 00:07:55,407 --> 00:07:58,275 In science, for example, there may be two different opinions 85 00:07:58,275 --> 00:08:00,828 which are both heard, 86 00:08:00,828 --> 00:08:04,236 and one is not excluded from the outset 87 00:08:04,236 --> 00:08:07,345 for whatever reason; 88 00:08:07,345 --> 00:08:09,352 because it does not suit a result, 89 00:08:09,352 --> 00:08:14,655 or because the result does not fit in with existing opinion. 90 00:08:14,655 --> 00:08:17,678 One should only exclude a result 91 00:08:17,678 --> 00:08:21,629 when it is seen to be definitively wrong. 92 00:08:21,629 --> 00:08:23,997 To that end one must first examine it, 93 00:08:23,997 --> 00:08:30,580 and first hear those who have the given view; 94 00:08:30,580 --> 00:08:34,577 in the case of law, in a court. 95 00:08:34,577 --> 00:08:39,958 When two sides oppose each other there, or when one person is accused, 96 00:08:39,958 --> 00:08:45,336 then it is the duty of the judge to find out first of all what the truth is 97 00:08:45,336 --> 00:08:47,367 and what has really happened, 98 00:08:47,367 --> 00:08:52,303 and only then does one consider how that is to be judged, 99 00:08:52,303 --> 00:08:57,153 whether it is a matter of illegality or culpability, 100 00:08:57,153 --> 00:09:02,044 but the truth must first be clearly established, 101 00:09:02,044 --> 00:09:04,579 what has happened. 102 00:09:06,136 --> 00:09:17,832 "Hear the other side" is today often termed "the right to be heard", 103 00:09:17,832 --> 00:09:22,799 which means every citizen has the right to be heard, 104 00:09:22,799 --> 00:09:25,863 before a court and before other authorities 105 00:09:25,863 --> 00:09:34,963 to be listened to, to put, to be able to put, his point of view. 106 00:09:34,963 --> 00:09:41,571 And it is not sufficient that the judge just listens 107 00:09:41,571 --> 00:09:50,126 and thinks I know how this trial will go, should go, but allow the speeches. 108 00:09:50,126 --> 00:09:57,189 That I have too often in practice over and over again experienced and observed, 109 00:09:57,189 --> 00:09:59,301 that the judges say, 110 00:09:59,301 --> 00:10:05,255 "So what do you want? We're giving you a legal hearing, we're letting you speak." 111 00:10:05,255 --> 00:10:11,796 Only by the conclusions and the judgements is it apparent 112 00:10:11,796 --> 00:10:16,235 that they have taken absolutely nothing into consideration, 113 00:10:16,235 --> 00:10:21,829 that he could be telling the truth or that he could be right. 114 00:10:21,829 --> 00:10:27,135 That is an important factor in legal hearings, 115 00:10:27,135 --> 00:10:31,036 that the judge considers 116 00:10:31,036 --> 00:10:36,451 that someone could be right. 117 00:10:36,451 --> 00:10:41,229 I've often experienced that this is not so, 118 00:10:41,229 --> 00:10:45,794 that much more the attitude prevails: 119 00:10:45,794 --> 00:10:49,391 He is not right, because it cannot be, 120 00:10:49,391 --> 00:10:52,889 or, far more often, because it may not be. 121 00:10:52,889 --> 00:10:58,477 And one does not concern oneself at all with the matters he puts forward. 122 00:10:59,896 --> 00:11:06,824 Such an attitude of a judge can be classified as bias. 123 00:11:10,152 --> 00:11:16,213 He is biased, he is not objective, he is not factual. 124 00:11:16,213 --> 00:11:24,640 Put another way, he allows himself to be led by irrelevant considerations. 125 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,792 That is grounds for objecting to a judge. 126 00:11:27,792 --> 00:11:33,957 Every accused can on these grounds object to a judge. 127 00:11:33,957 --> 00:11:40,078 I have often done that, as a defender, and in my own case. 128 00:11:40,078 --> 00:11:44,161 A judge has never been declined in all Holocaust denial trials 129 00:11:44,161 --> 00:11:49,969 in which I have been present and observed, 130 00:11:49,969 --> 00:11:57,335 the objection has never been accepted, 131 00:11:57,335 --> 00:12:04,210 the judges were retained. 132 00:12:04,210 --> 00:12:08,495 One of the important topics we will be discussing 133 00:12:08,495 --> 00:12:10,583 is "Freedom of Speech". 134 00:12:10,583 --> 00:12:17,687 One hears from many places, 135 00:12:17,687 --> 00:12:26,671 that people who have certain opinions get into trouble. 136 00:12:26,671 --> 00:12:30,098 And this is not confined to political discourse. 137 00:12:30,098 --> 00:12:34,041 I am sure you know of quite a few areas without me listing them. 138 00:12:34,041 --> 00:12:38,806 But to give an example, say, the issue of vaccines. 139 00:12:38,806 --> 00:12:44,132 There are doctors out there who have been banned from practising 140 00:12:44,132 --> 00:12:48,132 because they warned against vaccination. 141 00:12:48,132 --> 00:12:55,183 This is just one example out of many within medicine, 142 00:12:55,183 --> 00:13:00,183 one of the many areas in which such things happen. 143 00:13:00,183 --> 00:13:06,749 Or journalists who are ostracized 144 00:13:06,749 --> 00:13:15,086 because they have a differing view of the events of 9/11 2001, for example, 145 00:13:15,086 --> 00:13:17,756 and report on this. 146 00:13:17,756 --> 00:13:20,825 Such journalists are also bound to get in trouble. 147 00:13:20,825 --> 00:13:27,396 However, these people are not punished by criminal law, 148 00:13:27,396 --> 00:13:32,207 but find themselves punished in their respective occupations. 149 00:13:32,207 --> 00:13:36,187 These two examples should suffice to show 150 00:13:36,187 --> 00:13:43,744 that the highly praised "Freedom of Speech", 151 00:13:43,744 --> 00:13:46,766 in reality, isn't all that it is made out to be. 152 00:13:48,575 --> 00:13:56,674 And now to the issue of banned evidence, banned legal defence 153 00:13:56,674 --> 00:14:00,454 within the area of "Holocaust denial". 154 00:14:00,454 --> 00:14:08,258 Much could be said about this, one hour is far from sufficient. 155 00:14:08,258 --> 00:14:13,137 My job here is to omit that for which there is no time. 156 00:14:14,737 --> 00:14:19,891 But there are certain points which I think are essential to emphasize. 157 00:14:19,891 --> 00:14:25,548 First of all, it must be said, that the principle of 158 00:14:25,548 --> 00:14:28,617 nulla poena sine lege (no penalty without law) 159 00:14:28,617 --> 00:14:32,270 is not observed but regularly contravened. 160 00:14:32,270 --> 00:14:38,626 This principle dictates that the accused 161 00:14:38,626 --> 00:14:43,496 must be allowed to know what he did wrong, 162 00:14:43,496 --> 00:14:46,588 and what would have been right. 163 00:14:46,588 --> 00:14:53,581 If someone takes a bicycle that does not belong to him, 164 00:14:53,581 --> 00:14:56,340 most people know this is theft and not allowed. 165 00:14:58,892 --> 00:15:02,370 In cases of libel, 166 00:15:02,370 --> 00:15:10,473 where a person says something negative, something damaging reputation, 167 00:15:10,473 --> 00:15:17,129 then it's a question of whether it is true or false. 168 00:15:17,129 --> 00:15:20,978 And if it's true what he has said, 169 00:15:20,978 --> 00:15:23,866 then it does not constitute libel, 170 00:15:23,866 --> 00:15:28,526 because in theory one is allowed to speak the truth. 171 00:15:28,526 --> 00:15:33,419 In the case of Holocaust denial trials, 172 00:15:33,419 --> 00:15:39,939 the first problem we are faced with is that the Holocaust isn't defined anywhere. 173 00:15:39,939 --> 00:15:46,913 There is, therefore, a problem of lack of defining law. 174 00:15:46,913 --> 00:15:51,192 An authoritative definition is not to be found anywhere. 175 00:15:51,192 --> 00:15:55,991 I'll come back to what I mean by this later, 176 00:15:55,991 --> 00:16:01,660 what needs to be said exactly so that it's authoritatively defined. 177 00:16:01,660 --> 00:16:13,412 Let's turn to to the legal passages in the different laws. 178 00:16:13,412 --> 00:16:19,105 First of all, the ones in German law. 179 00:16:19,105 --> 00:16:24,838 In paragraph 130 section 3, [of the German Criminal Code] 180 00:16:24,838 --> 00:16:27,992 according to which so-called Holocaust deniers 181 00:16:27,992 --> 00:16:34,372 can be fined or imprisoned for up to 5 years for each singular offence, 182 00:16:34,372 --> 00:16:41,300 there is no mention of Holocaust. 183 00:16:41,300 --> 00:16:43,804 It is not defined in the law as such. 184 00:16:43,804 --> 00:16:52,184 Instead it refers to paragraph 6 section 1 of the German International Criminal Code. 185 00:16:52,184 --> 00:16:57,142 And here we find a definition of genocide. 186 00:16:57,142 --> 00:17:07,201 Whoever denies that such a genocide has occurred, can be convicted, 187 00:17:07,201 --> 00:17:09,550 provided that additional criteria are met, 188 00:17:09,550 --> 00:17:12,288 the disturbance of public order, for example. 189 00:17:12,288 --> 00:17:15,208 But what I would like to emphasize 190 00:17:15,208 --> 00:17:21,348 is the definition of genocide in paragraph 6 191 00:17:21,348 --> 00:17:23,622 of the German International Criminal Code. 192 00:17:23,622 --> 00:17:26,906 It's just a few lines, 193 00:17:26,906 --> 00:17:30,268 I'll not give it quite in its entirety. 194 00:17:35,972 --> 00:17:38,692 It is considered genocide 195 00:17:38,692 --> 00:17:44,463 when one member of an ethnic, religious or other group 196 00:17:44,463 --> 00:17:48,523 is killed with the intention of causing 197 00:17:48,523 --> 00:17:53,348 the destruction of that group, in whole or in part. 198 00:17:53,348 --> 00:17:57,503 So, one member of, say, a religious group is killed, 199 00:17:57,503 --> 00:18:05,051 and the perpetrator intended to kill the whole or part of the group, 200 00:18:05,051 --> 00:18:11,547 so is genocide defined in this paragraph 6. 201 00:18:11,547 --> 00:18:14,618 If one brings this together 202 00:18:14,618 --> 00:18:17,217 with paragraph 130 section 3, 203 00:18:17,217 --> 00:18:23,275 the denial of an act defined in paragraph 6, 204 00:18:23,275 --> 00:18:28,315 then one can according to this definition, 205 00:18:28,315 --> 00:18:32,127 convict a person who denies ... 206 00:18:32,127 --> 00:18:36,131 one must add: under the rule of National Socialism, 207 00:18:36,131 --> 00:18:38,731 it states in paragraph 130 section 3 ... 208 00:18:47,635 --> 00:18:51,363 So, according to according to paragraph 130 section 3, 209 00:18:51,363 --> 00:18:53,799 a person can be convicted 210 00:18:53,799 --> 00:18:58,934 who denies that under the rule of National Socialism 211 00:18:58,934 --> 00:19:07,429 a Jew was killed by someone to the end of destroying the Jewry 212 00:19:07,429 --> 00:19:10,272 as an ethnic or religious group. 213 00:19:10,272 --> 00:19:13,530 What is not necessary, for example, 214 00:19:13,530 --> 00:19:17,153 is that the German government wanted it, 215 00:19:17,153 --> 00:19:21,696 had given the order, or even that it knew 216 00:19:21,696 --> 00:19:25,870 that something had happened, it is not required here. 217 00:19:25,870 --> 00:19:31,499 Equally unrequired is that the killing was committed by a German, 218 00:19:31,499 --> 00:19:35,677 this is also not to be found in these laws. 219 00:19:35,677 --> 00:19:40,740 So, one cannot speak of a clear principle of law, 220 00:19:42,913 --> 00:19:50,341 because of this, in my opinion, inexact definition of genocide. 221 00:19:50,341 --> 00:19:55,255 Or otherwise, one can define genocide, 222 00:19:55,255 --> 00:20:02,523 but the denial of it is naturally yet another question. 223 00:20:02,523 --> 00:20:07,464 There are then the questions: Is it Holocaust denial 224 00:20:07,464 --> 00:20:14,894 when one contests whether 1 was killed or whether 6 million were killed? 225 00:20:14,894 --> 00:20:18,781 This alone shows the inexactitude. 226 00:20:23,241 --> 00:20:27,184 In the Federal Republic of Austria, there is also a relevant paragraph, 227 00:20:27,184 --> 00:20:31,846 there too the Holocaust itself is not defined. 228 00:20:31,846 --> 00:20:36,968 It is not clear what is meant. 229 00:20:36,968 --> 00:20:45,658 Let us now turn to the question of how it should be defined in order to be clear. 230 00:20:45,658 --> 00:20:49,951 Normally, in cases of murder, 231 00:20:49,951 --> 00:20:55,889 the verdict must state where the crime took place ... 232 00:20:55,889 --> 00:20:59,593 the police, the investigating magistrate, must naturally first establish matters 233 00:20:59,593 --> 00:21:03,077 and then present their findings to the court ... 234 00:21:03,077 --> 00:21:08,691 and in the verdict, when it is appropriately proved, 235 00:21:08,691 --> 00:21:16,991 the judge can then state that on such and such a day at such and such a place 236 00:21:16,991 --> 00:21:19,802 a murder took place with such and such a weapon, 237 00:21:19,802 --> 00:21:21,808 and the perpetrators were so and so, 238 00:21:21,808 --> 00:21:25,631 and it is proved because, for example, 239 00:21:25,631 --> 00:21:32,623 it has become clear, shown beyond doubt, 240 00:21:32,623 --> 00:21:36,550 that this is the weapon, 241 00:21:36,550 --> 00:21:42,608 that the fingerprints of the perpetrators, the accused, are on it, 242 00:21:42,608 --> 00:21:46,706 and that there were powder residues on the perpetrator, 243 00:21:46,706 --> 00:21:50,865 anyway a couple of examples. 244 00:21:50,865 --> 00:21:58,728 These things must be stated in the judgement. 245 00:21:58,728 --> 00:22:05,306 When we are dealing with the denial of such an act, 246 00:22:05,306 --> 00:22:08,688 with the criminal denial of such an act, 247 00:22:08,688 --> 00:22:11,825 then, of course, we would expect the relevant act, 248 00:22:11,825 --> 00:22:17,742 the murder itself, established. 249 00:22:17,742 --> 00:22:21,683 Otherwise, we have no idea what the accused actually denied. 250 00:22:21,683 --> 00:22:28,007 I suggest it is not clear what is really denied, 251 00:22:28,007 --> 00:22:30,182 because it is not definitively defined. 252 00:22:30,182 --> 00:22:35,855 There should be at least one case, 253 00:22:35,855 --> 00:22:38,346 against a Holocaust denier, 254 00:22:38,346 --> 00:22:45,520 in which the relevant crime, the Holocaust itself, 255 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:50,698 is exactly established in all necessary details. 256 00:22:50,698 --> 00:22:53,839 I know of no such verdict. 257 00:22:53,839 --> 00:22:59,709 There are no details concerning the crime scenes, the method of killing, 258 00:22:59,709 --> 00:23:04,538 the number of victims, the time-frame of the killings, 259 00:23:04,538 --> 00:23:07,813 the perpetrators, the bodies, 260 00:23:07,813 --> 00:23:12,243 or physical trace of a killing. 261 00:23:12,243 --> 00:23:16,899 The testimonies are not specified, 262 00:23:16,899 --> 00:23:21,638 nor are the documents or similar kinds of evidence. 263 00:23:21,638 --> 00:23:27,318 The intention to destroy all or part of the Jewry 264 00:23:27,318 --> 00:23:33,388 under National Socialist rule has not been demonstrated anywhere. 265 00:23:33,388 --> 00:23:40,082 There are no documents showing any prior decisions, plans or orders. 266 00:23:40,082 --> 00:23:43,978 When it comes to the trial of Holocaust deniers, 267 00:23:43,978 --> 00:23:48,511 we do not find these things specified. 268 00:23:48,511 --> 00:23:51,743 Nor do we find any references to other verdicts, 269 00:23:51,743 --> 00:23:54,897 where all these things could have been stated. 270 00:23:54,897 --> 00:23:58,946 When one wants to show something, it is the most scientific thing to do 271 00:23:58,946 --> 00:24:02,963 to refer to other verdicts containing the exact information. 272 00:24:02,963 --> 00:24:06,836 This is also not the case. 273 00:24:06,836 --> 00:24:11,094 This is the problem. 274 00:24:11,094 --> 00:24:17,342 As long as the court will not commit to certain specified crime scenes 275 00:24:17,342 --> 00:24:21,374 where these mass killings are supposed to have happened, 276 00:24:21,374 --> 00:24:27,273 as long as the court will not commit to at least one specified piece of evidence, 277 00:24:27,273 --> 00:24:30,939 as long as this remains the case, 278 00:24:30,939 --> 00:24:34,924 these mass killings simply cannot be demonstrated. 279 00:24:34,924 --> 00:24:42,765 And no more so the denial of these mass killings. 280 00:24:59,670 --> 00:25:03,759 Now one might say, 281 00:25:03,759 --> 00:25:05,489 "What about the Nuremberg trial? 282 00:25:05,489 --> 00:25:10,198 It's probably in there somewhere, the details." 283 00:25:10,198 --> 00:25:12,699 This is not the case. 284 00:25:12,699 --> 00:25:21,643 Let me read you the relevant passage of the Nuremberg verdict 285 00:25:21,643 --> 00:25:24,136 where gas chambers are mentioned. 286 00:25:24,136 --> 00:25:28,156 Here it says and I quote: 287 00:25:30,367 --> 00:25:33,361 A certain number of the concentration camps 288 00:25:33,361 --> 00:25:37,044 were equipped with gas chambers 289 00:25:37,044 --> 00:25:39,131 for the wholesale destruction of the inmates, 290 00:25:39,131 --> 00:25:42,259 and with furnaces for the burning of the bodies. 291 00:25:42,259 --> 00:25:46,573 Some of them were in fact used for the extermination of Jews 292 00:25:46,573 --> 00:25:51,995 as part of the "final solution" of the Jewish problem. 293 00:25:51,995 --> 00:25:57,087 Most of the non-Jewish inmates were used for labour, 294 00:25:57,087 --> 00:26:00,276 although the conditions under which they worked 295 00:26:00,276 --> 00:26:05,087 made labour and death almost synonymous terms. 296 00:26:05,087 --> 00:26:10,148 Those inmates who became ill and were unable to work 297 00:26:10,148 --> 00:26:16,763 were either murdered in the gas chambers or sent to special infirmaries, 298 00:26:16,763 --> 00:26:21,642 where they were given entirely inadequate medical treatment, 299 00:26:21,642 --> 00:26:28,645 worse food if possible than the working inmates, 300 00:26:28,645 --> 00:26:36,271 and left to die. End quote. 301 00:26:36,271 --> 00:26:42,847 That is all it says about gas chambers in the Nuremberg verdicts. 302 00:26:42,847 --> 00:26:44,543 It is all stated in general terms 303 00:26:44,543 --> 00:26:47,171 such as "a certain number of concentration camps". 304 00:26:47,171 --> 00:26:53,938 It is not mentioned where the gas chambers were. 305 00:26:53,938 --> 00:26:59,834 This means that a defence lawyer is left with no place to begin. 306 00:26:59,834 --> 00:27:03,392 It is also important to emphasize 307 00:27:03,392 --> 00:27:13,842 that the rules of evidence were nullified in the Nuremberg trials. 308 00:27:13,842 --> 00:27:16,592 Perhaps not all of them, but in substantial part. 309 00:27:16,592 --> 00:27:23,600 It says here, in the London Charter 310 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:28,770 which decreed laws specifically for this military tribunal, 311 00:27:28,770 --> 00:27:32,317 in Article 19: 312 00:27:32,317 --> 00:27:38,384 The Tribunal shall not be bound by technical rules of evidence. 313 00:27:38,384 --> 00:27:42,675 That is a sentence that is worth pondering. 314 00:27:42,675 --> 00:27:50,635 That a military tribunal from its inception 315 00:27:50,635 --> 00:27:58,070 is given a free hand when it comes to rules of evidence. 316 00:27:58,070 --> 00:28:01,510 And further in article 20: 317 00:28:01,510 --> 00:28:09,468 The Tribunal shall not require proof of facts of common knowledge 318 00:28:09,468 --> 00:28:15,862 but shall take judicial notice thereof. 319 00:28:15,862 --> 00:28:18,687 Interesting, right? 320 00:28:18,687 --> 00:28:23,292 It shall not require proof of facts of common knowledge. 321 00:28:23,292 --> 00:28:28,250 But what are facts of common knowledge? 322 00:28:28,250 --> 00:28:33,124 It is usually the job of the courts to establish the facts, 323 00:28:33,124 --> 00:28:38,728 not presume the facts. 324 00:28:38,728 --> 00:28:44,286 It all becomes somewhat clearer 325 00:28:44,286 --> 00:28:49,678 in the words of the American chief prosecutor, 326 00:28:49,678 --> 00:28:53,897 Robert H Jackson. 327 00:28:53,897 --> 00:29:04,725 They are given in the Nuremberg protocols vol. 19 p. 440: 328 00:29:04,725 --> 00:29:10,258 As a military tribunal, 329 00:29:10,258 --> 00:29:21,547 this Tribunal is a continuation of the war effort 330 00:29:21,547 --> 00:29:25,044 of the Allied nations. 331 00:29:25,044 --> 00:29:33,796 I'll repeat, the Nuremberg tribunal is a continuation of the war effort 332 00:29:33,796 --> 00:29:38,923 of the Allied nations. 333 00:29:38,923 --> 00:29:44,714 Does a nation engaged in a war effort need rules of evidence 334 00:29:44,714 --> 00:29:49,730 as it seeks to burden its opponent with guilt? 335 00:29:49,730 --> 00:29:53,979 I would now like to read you a passage from another verdict, 336 00:29:53,979 --> 00:30:00,982 in which one might assume to find the details 337 00:30:00,982 --> 00:30:05,483 of the Holocaust specified. 338 00:30:05,483 --> 00:30:12,123 This is from the so-called Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials. 339 00:30:12,140 --> 00:30:16,669 Here it says in the final verdict, and I quote: 340 00:30:16,699 --> 00:30:22,264 Almost all the usual forms of evidence of a normal murder trial 341 00:30:22,283 --> 00:30:26,554 necessary for gaining a true image of the events 342 00:30:26,647 --> 00:30:29,639 at the time of the murder 343 00:30:29,644 --> 00:30:33,137 were unavailable to the court. 344 00:30:33,227 --> 00:30:36,205 There were no bodies of the victims, 345 00:30:36,238 --> 00:30:39,336 no autopsy reports, 346 00:30:39,341 --> 00:30:47,725 no expert reports on the cause and time of death, 347 00:30:47,776 --> 00:30:51,573 there was no evidence as to the perpetrators, 348 00:30:51,613 --> 00:30:55,059 the murder weapons, and so on. 349 00:30:55,090 --> 00:31:01,204 Verification of the witness testimonies was only possible in a few cases. 350 00:31:01,242 --> 00:31:03,127 And further below: 351 00:31:03,143 --> 00:31:09,313 The court was, therefore, almost solely dependent upon witness testimonies 352 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:16,066 in the clarification of the crimes of the accused. 353 00:31:16,092 --> 00:31:20,793 And yet further on: 354 00:31:20,818 --> 00:31:23,391 There were hardly any witnesses 355 00:31:23,410 --> 00:31:28,607 who lived through the events at Auschwitz concentration camp 356 00:31:28,609 --> 00:31:32,060 as neutral observers. 357 00:31:32,081 --> 00:31:37,078 One can conclude from this verdict, 358 00:31:37,104 --> 00:31:42,515 or rather simply see what stands there, 359 00:31:42,525 --> 00:31:48,047 the court was almost solely dependent upon witness testimonies 360 00:31:48,071 --> 00:31:51,377 in the clarification of the crimes of the accused. 361 00:31:51,406 --> 00:32:00,736 Such is the situation at the start of a trial for Holocaust denial, 362 00:32:00,794 --> 00:32:05,226 and it is also the situation at the end, because nothing is changed. 363 00:32:05,263 --> 00:32:07,446 One gets to know, 364 00:32:07,474 --> 00:32:09,888 neither as defence attorney nor as accused, 365 00:32:09,916 --> 00:32:14,270 absolutely nothing of what has actually been established as fact, 366 00:32:14,309 --> 00:32:18,290 because it is not given in the verdict. 367 00:32:18,294 --> 00:32:23,250 Not in older verdicts nor in newer verdicts. 368 00:32:23,349 --> 00:32:27,487 There is a lot in the media and much can be read in books about it, 369 00:32:27,503 --> 00:32:34,155 but we want to hear it from the courts, we want to hear it stated officially. 370 00:32:34,168 --> 00:32:37,637 We want to know. Really know. 371 00:32:37,691 --> 00:32:44,993 One does not want to deny what is proved, but one wants to know what was, 372 00:32:45,001 --> 00:32:49,625 only one cannot find it stated officially, that's the problem. 373 00:32:49,697 --> 00:32:52,639 One is accused and condemned 374 00:32:52,663 --> 00:33:00,879 without being told authoritatively of what one is really accused. 375 00:33:00,888 --> 00:33:05,912 What can one say to put it firmly? 376 00:33:05,932 --> 00:33:11,010 I'll come back to this later, how things go in a trial. 377 00:33:11,034 --> 00:33:17,430 When an accused wants to know what he should have said, 378 00:33:17,448 --> 00:33:19,098 he gets no answer. 379 00:33:19,162 --> 00:33:21,587 But more about that later. 380 00:33:24,325 --> 00:33:30,816 At this point I would like to add a very telling revelation 381 00:33:30,816 --> 00:33:34,496 made by 34 French historians. 382 00:33:34,496 --> 00:33:40,825 In 1979, they issued a statement. 383 00:33:40,825 --> 00:33:48,238 These historians specialize in the history of the Holocaust. 384 00:33:48,238 --> 00:33:56,061 The revisionist historian, Professor Robert Faurisson, 385 00:33:56,061 --> 00:34:04,547 put forward technical arguments against the existence of gas chambers. 386 00:34:06,724 --> 00:34:13,766 These 34 French historians stated the following 387 00:34:13,766 --> 00:34:20,895 to the counterargument of Professor Faurisson in 1979. 388 00:34:20,895 --> 00:34:26,237 Quote: It must not be asked 389 00:34:26,237 --> 00:34:35,415 how such a mass murder was technically possible. 390 00:34:35,415 --> 00:34:40,293 It was technically possible because it happened. 391 00:34:40,293 --> 00:34:46,848 That is the required point of departure, – point of departure!? – 392 00:34:46,848 --> 00:34:52,242 of any historical inquiry on this subject. 393 00:34:52,242 --> 00:34:57,030 These truths we should just recall to memory: 394 00:34:57,030 --> 00:35:03,012 There is no debate about the existence of the gas chambers 395 00:35:03,012 --> 00:35:10,644 and there may not be one. End quote. 396 00:35:10,644 --> 00:35:15,425 This also belongs to the point of departure, 397 00:35:15,425 --> 00:35:20,815 because this is how the judges, the prosecutors, go on, 398 00:35:20,815 --> 00:35:28,544 as do many other lawyers and other people. 399 00:35:28,544 --> 00:35:30,963 Through their actions they are clearly letting you know 400 00:35:30,963 --> 00:35:36,811 that you are not allowed to ask. 401 00:35:38,756 --> 00:35:43,353 This has had immense consequences. 402 00:35:43,353 --> 00:35:50,562 I am in no way the first lawyer to be punished for Holocaust denial. 403 00:35:50,562 --> 00:35:52,666 Please don't think that. 404 00:35:52,666 --> 00:35:56,852 I might be the first lawyer to be imprisoned for it though. 405 00:35:56,852 --> 00:36:02,324 But for years, lawyers have been forever accused of Holocaust denial 406 00:36:02,324 --> 00:36:10,871 because they submitted evidence regarding details of the Holocaust. 407 00:36:10,871 --> 00:36:13,870 When submitting evidence, 408 00:36:13,870 --> 00:36:22,678 one necessarily has to phrase it as statement of fact, 409 00:36:22,678 --> 00:36:27,928 otherwise it will not be termed evidence. 410 00:36:27,928 --> 00:36:32,251 That means you have to claim as fact, what you want to demonstrate to the court. 411 00:36:32,251 --> 00:36:35,409 Otherwise it will be dismissed, on formal grounds. 412 00:36:35,409 --> 00:36:40,937 Only when one as a defender of a Holocaust denier 413 00:36:40,937 --> 00:36:46,439 puts an argument, and says this and this is true, 414 00:36:46,439 --> 00:36:49,678 and there is this and that expert evidence, 415 00:36:49,678 --> 00:36:52,615 this and that is proved, 416 00:36:52,615 --> 00:36:59,687 the court may determine it, may ask an expert witness, for example, 417 00:36:59,687 --> 00:37:04,695 then if this submission is declined, 418 00:37:04,695 --> 00:37:12,011 the defender is then additionally accused and convicted of Holocaust denial. 419 00:37:12,011 --> 00:37:14,938 These things are not so well-known 420 00:37:14,938 --> 00:37:17,768 because most lawyers don't make much of a fuss about it. 421 00:37:17,768 --> 00:37:20,360 They are just given a fine, which they then pay, 422 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:22,873 and then say or think to themselves, 423 00:37:22,873 --> 00:37:26,249 they'll not do it again, they'll not cause themselves the trouble ever again. 424 00:37:26,249 --> 00:37:29,551 But there are many, many cases of this nature. 425 00:37:29,551 --> 00:37:36,490 Only, I just wonder, why this should remain so unknown, 426 00:37:36,490 --> 00:37:43,508 this way of going on with the accused, with the law, 427 00:37:43,508 --> 00:37:50,541 and to punish defence lawyers for quite normal professional practice. 428 00:37:50,541 --> 00:37:57,417 I find it important that the people become aware of it. 429 00:37:57,417 --> 00:38:00,520 (Applause) 430 00:38:14,187 --> 00:38:17,961 There are many, many people, not just lawyers, 431 00:38:17,961 --> 00:38:21,252 but also scientists, of different types, 432 00:38:21,252 --> 00:38:24,691 who have been punished for Holocaust denial. 433 00:38:24,691 --> 00:38:30,921 I will not name many because it would become a task without end 434 00:38:30,921 --> 00:38:38,436 to name the many scientists and others who have been punished with fines, 435 00:38:38,436 --> 00:38:41,144 or many times even with prison sentences. 436 00:38:41,144 --> 00:38:46,449 I would like to mention just a few, for example, Germar Rudolf, 437 00:38:46,449 --> 00:38:51,123 who also was subjected to the treatment I just described. 438 00:38:51,123 --> 00:38:56,534 He is a chemist and made certain observations – 439 00:38:56,534 --> 00:39:00,673 this is not the place to recite them. 440 00:39:00,673 --> 00:39:05,738 He wrote books on what he observed, 441 00:39:05,738 --> 00:39:10,094 truly scientific books, 442 00:39:10,094 --> 00:39:17,053 and because of these books he was twice given a prison sentence. 443 00:39:17,053 --> 00:39:21,896 In one case, I defended him in court, 444 00:39:21,896 --> 00:39:24,427 and the books were then destroyed, 445 00:39:24,427 --> 00:39:28,361 they were forbidden, removed from the index, 446 00:39:28,361 --> 00:39:30,111 completely destroyed. 447 00:39:30,111 --> 00:39:37,842 All the books the authorities could get hold of were burned. 448 00:39:37,842 --> 00:39:42,411 There were masses of books burned on these grounds, 449 00:39:42,411 --> 00:39:45,547 including those by Germar Rudolf, 450 00:39:45,547 --> 00:39:54,774 and one must say about this, one must explain why it happened. 451 00:39:54,774 --> 00:40:00,525 Why a chemist who seriously took to considering the matter, 452 00:40:00,525 --> 00:40:05,861 why one does not at least discuss what he says, 453 00:40:05,861 --> 00:40:09,510 because it was not discussed, it was not openly discussed. 454 00:40:09,510 --> 00:40:17,439 When one passes on what he says, one can expect a prison sentence. 455 00:40:17,439 --> 00:40:23,533 The discussion is hindered. 456 00:40:23,533 --> 00:40:34,594 How does one explain that in a structure that considers itself free? 457 00:40:34,594 --> 00:40:36,659 That's quite simple. 458 00:40:36,659 --> 00:40:42,731 One just says he was a pseudoscientist. 459 00:40:42,731 --> 00:40:45,658 It's just that simple! 460 00:40:45,658 --> 00:40:48,086 Well, yes, I could explain the matter to you – 461 00:40:48,086 --> 00:40:56,588 well, one then gets to the verdict 462 00:40:56,588 --> 00:41:05,583 and it's all about a pseudoscientist who has denied the Holocaust. 463 00:41:05,583 --> 00:41:11,205 Haven't we already heard today the phrase: Bad science? 464 00:41:11,205 --> 00:41:15,087 We heard it in a different context, but the meaning is the same. 465 00:41:15,087 --> 00:41:19,407 If someone accused of Holocaust denial stands before the court 466 00:41:19,407 --> 00:41:28,370 and he there presents how he came to not believe in the Holocaust, 467 00:41:28,370 --> 00:41:31,007 to doubt the Holocaust, 468 00:41:31,007 --> 00:41:33,169 to place the Holocaust in question, 469 00:41:33,169 --> 00:41:35,216 or to argue about the Holocaust 470 00:41:35,216 --> 00:41:38,211 – there are several different levels – 471 00:41:38,211 --> 00:41:41,777 when anyway he presents his case, 472 00:41:41,777 --> 00:41:47,364 I've experienced it myself as defence counsel, 473 00:41:47,364 --> 00:41:56,472 he is again, because of this declaration in court in his defence, 474 00:41:56,472 --> 00:42:02,620 he is yet further accused and sentenced for Holocaust denial. 475 00:42:02,620 --> 00:42:07,534 Because he had for sure, in public, before the court, 476 00:42:07,534 --> 00:42:14,066 he had again questioned the Holocaust, and is again accused and sentenced. 477 00:42:14,066 --> 00:42:18,268 So that is prohibition of defence, not only for defence counsel, 478 00:42:18,268 --> 00:42:20,609 but also for the defendant himself. 479 00:42:20,609 --> 00:42:25,717 He may not defend himself, he may not discuss the issue of 480 00:42:25,717 --> 00:42:29,955 why he questioned the Holocaust, 481 00:42:29,955 --> 00:42:35,667 what grounds, what facts brought him to do it. 482 00:42:38,541 --> 00:42:47,830 So, not just a prohibition of evidence, but a prohibition of defence. 483 00:42:47,830 --> 00:43:00,454 I will quote you from the judgement against me at the Mannheim court. 484 00:43:00,454 --> 00:43:07,780 It states in the verdict: 485 00:43:07,780 --> 00:43:20,718 The court sought to limit increasingly almost all defence rights of the accused. 486 00:43:20,718 --> 00:43:28,086 It then concerns itself with which defence rights were limited. 487 00:43:28,086 --> 00:43:32,096 For example, to express oneself on the matter, 488 00:43:32,096 --> 00:43:35,639 and ask a witness in what concerns me. 489 00:43:35,639 --> 00:43:39,859 So, to sum it up, they took away my right to speak. 490 00:43:39,859 --> 00:43:52,296 I might not express myself further, and then I was allowed ten questions. 491 00:43:52,296 --> 00:43:55,978 The questions I put did not please the court, 492 00:43:55,978 --> 00:43:59,965 and I was not permitted to ask further questions. 493 00:44:01,472 --> 00:44:03,932 This is just one example. 494 00:44:03,932 --> 00:44:06,715 What is often done then, 495 00:44:06,715 --> 00:44:13,093 is that a relatively newly added paragraph is introduced, 496 00:44:13,093 --> 00:44:20,137 the Code of Criminal Procedure, paragraph 252a. 497 00:44:20,137 --> 00:44:25,714 It was introduced in the 90's 498 00:44:25,714 --> 00:44:31,571 to tighten paragraph 130 section 3 relating to Holocaust denial, 499 00:44:31,571 --> 00:44:38,543 and possibly to tighten the whole of paragraph 130. 500 00:44:41,706 --> 00:44:53,258 This paragraph 252a enables the judge to require the accused or the defender 501 00:44:53,258 --> 00:44:57,259 to express themselves only in writing to the court. 502 00:44:57,259 --> 00:45:02,201 So, petitions and statements are to be presented only in written form, 503 00:45:02,201 --> 00:45:04,859 and not read out loud first. 504 00:45:04,859 --> 00:45:11,438 This the normal way, to express oneself orally. 505 00:45:11,438 --> 00:45:14,881 It is one of the most fundamental principles 506 00:45:14,881 --> 00:45:19,244 of German criminal law, of German criminal proceedings, 507 00:45:19,244 --> 00:45:23,961 the oral principle, that everything must be spoken out loud before the court. 508 00:45:23,961 --> 00:45:28,069 There are different, good reasons why this should be, 509 00:45:28,069 --> 00:45:32,263 but this was abolished in the 90's. 510 00:45:33,653 --> 00:45:37,570 Apparently, there are things that one doesn't want to hear. 511 00:45:37,570 --> 00:45:40,875 And then when the judge gets the impression, 512 00:45:40,875 --> 00:45:43,570 now it is time, 513 00:45:43,570 --> 00:45:50,401 he commands the defender to communicate to the court in written form only. 514 00:45:50,401 --> 00:45:54,640 And in the trial of Ernst Zündel it was exactly like this too. 515 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:58,989 In other trials it was different, I could say everything I wanted to, 516 00:45:58,989 --> 00:46:03,495 the accused was nonetheless convicted, 517 00:46:03,495 --> 00:46:06,571 but I could say all I wanted to. 518 00:46:06,571 --> 00:46:15,075 But in the Zündel case and a few others, this speech prohibition was imposed. 519 00:46:15,075 --> 00:46:20,150 The result, of course, of communication in writing alone, 520 00:46:20,150 --> 00:46:27,607 is that those listening don't get to know what the defender wants to convey. 521 00:46:27,607 --> 00:46:31,964 So, only the judges are aware of what the defender is trying to say, 522 00:46:31,964 --> 00:46:33,672 and not those listening. 523 00:46:33,672 --> 00:46:39,613 The public is excluded. 524 00:46:39,613 --> 00:46:47,088 In this connection I would like to quickly describe 525 00:46:47,088 --> 00:46:51,649 how things went at the trial of Ernst Zündel. 526 00:46:51,649 --> 00:46:55,030 It got to be a bit of a muddle, I must tell you, 527 00:46:55,030 --> 00:46:59,258 it's no wonder, but it is a bit complicated. 528 00:46:59,258 --> 00:47:04,982 It was the case that this speech prohibition was imposed, 529 00:47:04,982 --> 00:47:09,312 and it was not only me but three other defenders. 530 00:47:09,312 --> 00:47:15,765 There were six defenders in all. Four Ernst Zündel chose himself, 531 00:47:15,765 --> 00:47:21,388 and two were appointed by the court. 532 00:47:21,388 --> 00:47:26,214 Why this was done became clear afterwards. 533 00:47:26,214 --> 00:47:33,330 They wanted lawyers in reserve in case the others were removed. 534 00:47:33,330 --> 00:47:38,190 If there were only one defender and he became unavailable, 535 00:47:38,190 --> 00:47:41,707 the trial would have to start from the beginning again. 536 00:47:41,707 --> 00:47:46,584 So, doing this avoids having to start the trial from the beginning again. 537 00:47:46,584 --> 00:47:56,312 So, I and two other chosen defenders were allowed only written communication. 538 00:47:56,312 --> 00:48:00,438 And it was my opinion, and still is, 539 00:48:00,438 --> 00:48:08,648 that it is the duty of the defender to protect the interests of his client, 540 00:48:08,648 --> 00:48:16,208 and to make it clear when he is of the opinion 541 00:48:16,208 --> 00:48:25,937 that the legal standards you expect in court are not being met. 542 00:48:25,937 --> 00:48:30,746 I was accused of damaging my duty as a defender. 543 00:48:30,746 --> 00:48:35,594 On these grounds, the judges dismissed me from the case. 544 00:48:35,594 --> 00:48:38,395 But I am of the opposite conviction; 545 00:48:38,395 --> 00:48:44,437 it is just the duty of a defender, just in such difficult situations, 546 00:48:44,437 --> 00:48:52,396 to point out, stop, I cannot remain silent, 547 00:48:52,396 --> 00:48:55,778 injustice is going on here. 548 00:48:55,778 --> 00:49:00,558 (Applause) 549 00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:12,835 And had I submitted to the prohibition imposed on me, 550 00:49:12,835 --> 00:49:20,272 and made my submissions in writing, then I would have felt 551 00:49:20,272 --> 00:49:23,581 that everything happening was estranged from the law. 552 00:49:23,581 --> 00:49:29,916 The fact that I could not express myself orally 553 00:49:29,916 --> 00:49:32,197 was already a breach of the law. 554 00:49:32,197 --> 00:49:40,101 Of others I will not speak, but for this reason alone 555 00:49:40,101 --> 00:49:44,022 I continued to speak. 556 00:49:44,022 --> 00:49:47,025 And I explained why I continued to speak. 557 00:49:47,025 --> 00:49:52,155 I explained to them exactly what I am explaining to you. 558 00:49:52,155 --> 00:50:02,626 I explained why the use of this 252a, this prohibition of speech, 559 00:50:02,626 --> 00:50:06,453 this breach of the oral tradition, was something I would not submit to it. 560 00:50:06,453 --> 00:50:10,572 I explained it all to the Mannheim court. 561 00:50:10,572 --> 00:50:17,161 In such difficult cases, it is sensible to make submissions in writing also, 562 00:50:17,161 --> 00:50:20,635 first to read them, and then to present them in writing, 563 00:50:20,635 --> 00:50:23,685 so everything is documented and in the files. 564 00:50:23,685 --> 00:50:30,048 I told them exactly why I would not bow to this speech prohibition. 565 00:50:30,048 --> 00:50:38,416 Because I don't accept it as right is the reason in essence. 566 00:50:38,416 --> 00:50:46,801 And then it continued with my nonetheless reading a submission, 567 00:50:46,801 --> 00:50:50,728 at least began to, I did not have permission to, 568 00:50:50,728 --> 00:50:54,621 I should have just handed it over, but I read it out. 569 00:50:54,621 --> 00:50:59,073 The judge then asked me to stop, 570 00:50:59,073 --> 00:51:04,467 but I continued to speak on the grounds I've just explained, 571 00:51:04,467 --> 00:51:07,528 and it collapsed into an argumentation. 572 00:51:07,528 --> 00:51:12,544 It's in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 573 00:51:12,544 --> 00:51:16,296 end of 2005, beginning of 2006, 574 00:51:16,296 --> 00:51:22,360 really well put in parts. 575 00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:26,236 So, there was quite an argumentation, 576 00:51:26,236 --> 00:51:30,527 sometimes speaking over each other, 577 00:51:30,527 --> 00:51:33,436 until the microphone was taken away from me, 578 00:51:33,436 --> 00:51:38,689 when I had the cheek to speak without a microphone, 579 00:51:38,689 --> 00:51:40,740 (Applause) 580 00:51:48,599 --> 00:51:50,602 which was referred to in the sentence. 581 00:51:50,602 --> 00:51:56,517 It must be particularly reprehensible to do such a thing. 582 00:51:56,517 --> 00:52:00,204 And in the end, after much argument, 583 00:52:00,204 --> 00:52:06,998 it reached the point where the judge interjected, 584 00:52:06,998 --> 00:52:15,722 that he would entertain my exclusion as a defender from these proceedings. 585 00:52:15,722 --> 00:52:18,158 But it was not true that I was arrested there and then, 586 00:52:18,158 --> 00:52:21,977 that was later, 587 00:52:21,977 --> 00:52:26,221 it was requested, 588 00:52:26,221 --> 00:52:34,765 and the high court in Karlsruhe took the decision to grant the request, 589 00:52:34,765 --> 00:52:38,858 and had me as defender excluded from the proceedings. 590 00:52:51,902 --> 00:53:04,485 So, the Karlsruhe court had me excluded as defender from the Zündel proceedings, 591 00:53:04,485 --> 00:53:08,157 but this decision was not yet final, 592 00:53:08,157 --> 00:53:13,787 an appeal was allowable. 593 00:53:13,787 --> 00:53:17,903 The time allowed for the appeal was not up, 594 00:53:17,903 --> 00:53:23,776 when a new date was given for the Zündel trial 595 00:53:23,776 --> 00:53:27,464 to which I was not invited. 596 00:53:27,464 --> 00:53:35,287 And a lawyer friend told me about it, and naturally I appeared, 597 00:53:35,287 --> 00:53:42,047 because the appeal time was not up, 598 00:53:42,047 --> 00:53:48,296 let alone an appeal decision made. 599 00:53:48,296 --> 00:53:52,660 So, I sat down at the defence table. 600 00:53:52,660 --> 00:54:00,351 But then the judge requested that I leave the defence table. 601 00:54:00,351 --> 00:54:03,549 So, there was a long discussion. 602 00:54:03,549 --> 00:54:12,435 In the first place, if my appeal deferred my exclusion or not. 603 00:54:12,435 --> 00:54:19,072 If it did, then I still had the right to sit there, 604 00:54:19,072 --> 00:54:23,300 if it didn't then I had no right to sit there. 605 00:54:23,300 --> 00:54:28,030 You can imagine who had which opinion, 606 00:54:28,030 --> 00:54:32,525 but the point is he had power on his side, 607 00:54:32,525 --> 00:54:41,538 and, then, naturally, opining that the appeal did not defer my exclusion, 608 00:54:41,538 --> 00:54:47,032 I was to leave the defence table. 609 00:54:49,654 --> 00:54:52,995 I answered saying that the time was past 610 00:54:52,995 --> 00:54:56,269 when the German people would allow themselves to be oppressed. 611 00:54:56,269 --> 00:55:00,202 (Applause) 612 00:55:22,250 --> 00:55:30,550 So, then he ordered the police present to remove me from the courtroom, 613 00:55:30,550 --> 00:55:38,871 and a couple of policewomen stood in front of me 614 00:55:38,871 --> 00:55:41,289 and asked me to leave the courtroom. 615 00:55:41,289 --> 00:55:45,958 I said, "You'll have to carry me." 616 00:55:45,958 --> 00:55:48,713 Basically, it all went quite civilly. 617 00:55:48,713 --> 00:55:53,000 The media naturally made a great show out of it. 618 00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:56,181 I wondered how it would go on, it wasn't right. 619 00:55:56,181 --> 00:55:58,762 It all went quite calmly. 620 00:55:58,762 --> 00:56:02,564 I said quite civilly to the officers, "You'll have to carry me." 621 00:56:02,564 --> 00:56:05,140 Which they then did. 622 00:56:05,140 --> 00:56:07,357 (Laughter) 623 00:56:07,357 --> 00:56:16,812 And as I was carried out, I called out, "The German people will rise." 624 00:56:16,812 --> 00:56:21,587 (Applause) 625 00:56:31,033 --> 00:56:36,240 So, that's how it was. 626 00:56:36,240 --> 00:56:44,234 Anyway, the trial of Ernst Zündel then lasted a further 10 months. 627 00:56:44,234 --> 00:56:48,580 I mention that because it was suggested 628 00:56:48,580 --> 00:56:51,815 I might have been trying to protract the trial. 629 00:56:57,553 --> 00:57:02,290 It was suggested I might be trying to protract the trial 630 00:57:02,290 --> 00:57:07,333 with the petitions I made. 631 00:57:07,333 --> 00:57:15,220 So, after my forced removal, the case went on for 10 months. 632 00:57:15,220 --> 00:57:20,655 The intention to speed up the trial was, after my removal, 633 00:57:20,655 --> 00:57:25,244 very quickly lost, it would seem. 634 00:57:25,244 --> 00:57:30,254 Ernst Zündel was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. 635 00:57:30,254 --> 00:57:35,735 As he was free in 2010, he was released earlier. 636 00:57:35,735 --> 00:57:37,862 He was, in total, seven years in prison, 637 00:57:37,862 --> 00:57:42,505 two years in the USA, which were not taken into consideration, 638 00:57:42,505 --> 00:57:48,938 five years here, so, seven years continuous imprisonment. 639 00:57:51,123 --> 00:57:54,861 And then, I myself, I was also brought to trial, 640 00:57:54,861 --> 00:57:58,399 as is well-known at the court in Mannheim, 641 00:57:58,399 --> 00:58:03,009 where I was, in the first instance, sentenced to 3½ years imprisonment, 642 00:58:03,009 --> 00:58:05,719 for Holocaust denial, 643 00:58:05,719 --> 00:58:12,726 for defaming the state, to wit, defamation of the Federal Republic of Germany, 644 00:58:20,845 --> 00:58:26,380 in that I had said that Germany, since 1945, 645 00:58:26,380 --> 00:58:29,761 stood under the foreign rule of the victors of the war. 646 00:58:29,761 --> 00:58:33,248 (Applause) 647 00:58:44,009 --> 00:58:51,997 And then I was convicted of attempted obstruction of justice. 648 00:58:56,471 --> 00:59:00,202 One must look at what I was accused of. 649 00:59:00,202 --> 00:59:03,627 Attempted obstruction of justice, it says in the verdict. 650 00:59:03,627 --> 00:59:11,339 I made petitions which were intended to put the Holocaust in question, 651 00:59:11,339 --> 00:59:21,008 and because these petitions so obviously could not be successful, 652 00:59:21,008 --> 00:59:27,917 they could, therefore, only have been made to delay the court. 653 00:59:27,917 --> 00:59:31,786 Brilliant logic, would you believe!? 654 00:59:31,786 --> 00:59:38,091 If you make petitions which the court considers from the beginning as senseless, 655 00:59:38,091 --> 00:59:42,554 then one is seen as obstructing the court. 656 00:59:42,554 --> 00:59:48,430 I was also convicted of assault of constitutional institutions 657 00:59:48,430 --> 01:00:00,066 because I practically forced my petitions and positions on the judges. 658 01:00:00,066 --> 01:00:06,870 A further conviction of attempted assault of constitutional institutions 659 01:00:06,870 --> 01:00:12,821 was then quashed by the federal court on appeal. 660 01:00:15,389 --> 01:00:20,480 In the first instance I was sentenced for assault of constitutional institutions 661 01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:24,638 because I threatened the judges with an address. 662 01:00:24,638 --> 01:00:28,840 It was in relation to instructing the lay judges 663 01:00:28,840 --> 01:00:31,908 on the legal position – 664 01:00:31,908 --> 01:00:44,774 a lay judge may not know the legal position in Germany, 665 01:00:44,774 --> 01:00:48,134 and perhaps make themselves liable to prosecution, 666 01:00:48,134 --> 01:00:56,896 if they send an accused to prison on political grounds 667 01:00:56,896 --> 01:01:02,865 without justification. 668 01:01:02,865 --> 01:01:09,607 That is at the very least perversion of the course of justice. 669 01:01:09,607 --> 01:01:16,759 These facts I made fully clear in my motion, 670 01:01:16,759 --> 01:01:26,007 to wit, that I would have the professional and the lay judges 671 01:01:26,007 --> 01:01:30,138 answer one day when possible before a Reich's court 672 01:01:30,138 --> 01:01:32,827 if they convicted Ernst Zündel unjustly. 673 01:01:32,827 --> 01:01:35,892 (Applause) 674 01:01:42,987 --> 01:01:46,386 This was then taken as threats, 675 01:01:46,386 --> 01:01:49,203 and I was convicted of assault of constitutional institutions. 676 01:01:49,203 --> 01:01:52,192 This was, however, overturned, as threatening behaviour was not found. 677 01:01:52,192 --> 01:02:01,642 Exceptionally, the situation was judicially judged. 678 01:02:01,642 --> 01:02:06,079 It was in fact no threat, as I argued, 679 01:02:06,079 --> 01:02:09,726 but a making clear, a warning. 680 01:02:09,726 --> 01:02:13,310 This is not punishable, it's no threat. 681 01:02:15,290 --> 01:02:20,307 But in the media and Internet, yet again, 682 01:02:20,307 --> 01:02:24,637 I was sentenced because I threatened the judges, 683 01:02:24,637 --> 01:02:32,170 which sounds much better than if one said I was convicted because I made claims 684 01:02:32,170 --> 01:02:35,588 which brought the Holocaust into question. 685 01:02:40,290 --> 01:02:45,210 And, of course, I was also convicted of inciting racial hatred. 686 01:02:45,210 --> 01:02:49,915 Because when one places the Holocaust in doubt, 687 01:02:49,915 --> 01:02:55,207 one vilifies the victims. 688 01:02:55,207 --> 01:02:57,249 And that is inciting racial hatred. 689 01:02:57,249 --> 01:03:01,781 Such is the logic. If you don't understand it, I can't help. 690 01:03:01,781 --> 01:03:08,392 If you don't understand it, then you have a clear legal conscience. 691 01:03:08,392 --> 01:03:12,239 (Applause) 692 01:03:20,764 --> 01:03:25,077 The appeal then brought about a reduction of 3 months, 693 01:03:25,077 --> 01:03:30,140 so, in the end, I was in prison for 3 years, 3 months. 694 01:03:30,140 --> 01:03:34,582 I was also forbidden to practise law for 5 years, 695 01:03:34,582 --> 01:03:41,871 which is no longer relevant as I have been excluded from the legal profession. 696 01:03:43,959 --> 01:03:48,229 I must check what I want to continue with. 697 01:03:48,229 --> 01:03:56,653 One of the most important things is that one wants to know 698 01:03:56,653 --> 01:04:01,090 what is seen as legally correct by the court. 699 01:04:01,090 --> 01:04:05,901 One would like to know what the problem was. 700 01:04:05,901 --> 01:04:10,573 I have always requested a discussion 701 01:04:10,573 --> 01:04:15,103 of the foundation of the obviousness of the Holocaust. 702 01:04:15,103 --> 01:04:19,311 Because it's like this, it's a little complicated. 703 01:04:19,311 --> 01:04:24,695 When one makes a motion to produce evidence 704 01:04:24,695 --> 01:04:29,944 that brings the Holocaust into question, 705 01:04:29,944 --> 01:04:33,830 then such a motion is declined on the grounds 706 01:04:33,830 --> 01:04:37,790 that the Holocaust is self-evident. 707 01:04:39,518 --> 01:04:46,968 This is a quite usual procedure 708 01:04:46,968 --> 01:04:51,887 that one doesn't have to produce evidence for something that is self-evident. 709 01:04:51,887 --> 01:04:53,899 It is entirely superfluous. 710 01:04:53,899 --> 01:04:57,966 If something is self-evident there is no further evidence to produce. 711 01:04:57,966 --> 01:05:05,240 The text book example is that it is self-evident 712 01:05:05,240 --> 01:05:10,110 that rain falls down from above and not from below to above. 713 01:05:10,110 --> 01:05:19,810 And if in a criminal trial it came to whence the rain falls, 714 01:05:19,810 --> 01:05:25,436 then a motion to produce evidence by the defence can be denied 715 01:05:25,436 --> 01:05:29,435 on the grounds it is self-evident that rain falls down from above. 716 01:05:29,435 --> 01:05:32,167 One does not need to produce evidence for it. 717 01:05:32,167 --> 01:05:38,536 In such cases it is normal, in that it's something that will always be true. 718 01:05:38,536 --> 01:05:44,998 In a case where the rain came from the side, 719 01:05:44,998 --> 01:05:47,967 with the wind, then one must produce evidence, 720 01:05:47,967 --> 01:05:50,010 how it was on the day. 721 01:05:50,010 --> 01:05:51,820 Was it windy or not? 722 01:05:51,820 --> 01:05:55,178 We are getting into details about the way it is self-evident. 723 01:05:55,178 --> 01:06:06,916 Self-evident means something that for all laymen is always easily perceptible, 724 01:06:06,916 --> 01:06:11,377 always checkable in reference works, in books. 725 01:06:11,377 --> 01:06:14,339 And it assumes... 726 01:06:14,339 --> 01:06:21,103 I would not like to withhold from you the exact definition, 727 01:06:21,103 --> 01:06:28,386 because it's really important what self-evident actually is. 728 01:06:33,179 --> 01:06:41,389 From this reference book for lawyers: 729 01:06:41,389 --> 01:06:47,148 Historical facts are self-evident 730 01:06:47,148 --> 01:06:50,140 when, on the grounds of historical research, 731 01:06:50,140 --> 01:06:52,835 they are generally considered proved, 732 01:06:52,835 --> 01:06:54,849 so that anyone can inform himself 733 01:06:54,849 --> 01:06:58,690 with history books, encyclopaedias and similar reference sources 734 01:06:58,690 --> 01:07:03,389 without specialized subject knowledge. 735 01:07:05,593 --> 01:07:10,489 There's something else that is very important here, 736 01:07:10,489 --> 01:07:14,646 in the same book, at another place. 737 01:07:14,646 --> 01:07:19,145 The precondition for the acceptance of the self-evidence of a matter 738 01:07:19,145 --> 01:07:24,233 is the unchallenged nature of the matter under consideration. 739 01:07:24,233 --> 01:07:29,081 So, only something unchallenged can be self-evident. 740 01:07:29,081 --> 01:07:33,195 It must hold universal acceptance in science. 741 01:07:33,195 --> 01:07:35,962 Thereby one understands why some scientists 742 01:07:35,962 --> 01:07:41,401 are classified as pseudoscientists. 743 01:07:41,401 --> 01:07:47,257 Because then one can ignore them, and self-evidence is not challenged. 744 01:07:47,257 --> 01:07:51,137 Is, however, the correctness of a matter 745 01:07:51,137 --> 01:07:54,241 argued in the literature, 746 01:07:54,241 --> 01:08:05,297 then the matter is not thereby self-evident 747 01:08:05,297 --> 01:08:10,400 in that much is written, expounded and set forth about it; 748 01:08:10,400 --> 01:08:16,220 the deliberation on a matter in no way relates to its self-evidence. 749 01:08:16,220 --> 01:08:23,551 Motions to hear evidence regarding the Holocaust 750 01:08:23,551 --> 01:08:30,919 were, in my experience, rejected because the Holocaust is self-evident. 751 01:08:30,919 --> 01:08:41,372 I have ever and again in every case made the request to discuss the self-evidence. 752 01:08:41,372 --> 01:08:47,207 These requests were rejected on the grounds 753 01:08:47,207 --> 01:08:50,885 that the Holocaust is self-evident. 754 01:08:50,885 --> 01:08:53,716 I cannot put it another way. 755 01:08:53,716 --> 01:08:57,696 A discussion of the self-evidence of the Holocaust 756 01:08:57,696 --> 01:09:02,256 is superfluous because the Holocaust is self-evident. 757 01:09:02,256 --> 01:09:08,319 So, goes the reasoning in a nutshell, it is a circular argument. 758 01:09:08,319 --> 01:09:16,247 And I have then often also read the additional reason, 759 01:09:16,247 --> 01:09:21,798 that it will be seen as misuse of the law 760 01:09:21,798 --> 01:09:24,134 to make such a request, 761 01:09:24,134 --> 01:09:29,947 because, as was the case at my trial, it means inducing the court 762 01:09:29,947 --> 01:09:34,884 to tackle the subject. 763 01:09:34,884 --> 01:09:41,564 So, it is written, it means considering the revisionist theories, 764 01:09:41,564 --> 01:09:45,652 but that is just the basis of the accusation. 765 01:09:45,652 --> 01:09:48,555 So, it will be seen as misuse of the law 766 01:09:48,555 --> 01:09:54,894 to let the court get into a discussion about the charge. 767 01:09:54,894 --> 01:09:58,807 There's much to say, but as short as possible... 768 01:10:04,515 --> 01:10:08,851 The Bavarian lawyer's disciplinary court had to consider 769 01:10:08,851 --> 01:10:13,524 if I should be excluded from the legal profession. 770 01:10:13,524 --> 01:10:17,739 And also there I made requests 771 01:10:17,739 --> 01:10:22,621 in relation to self-evidence, 772 01:10:22,621 --> 01:10:26,354 and they were rejected on the grounds 773 01:10:26,354 --> 01:10:32,492 that the disciplinary court had no doubt that the Holocaust is self-evident, 774 01:10:32,492 --> 01:10:42,719 in view of the known available written, pictorial and sound material. 775 01:10:42,719 --> 01:10:51,300 Then I asked, that is, I and my defender, 776 01:10:51,300 --> 01:10:58,825 the court to say on which material it based its opinion. 777 01:11:04,242 --> 01:11:13,792 This question was dismissed on the grounds 778 01:11:13,792 --> 01:11:16,719 that the Holocaust, or the crimes of violence 779 01:11:16,719 --> 01:11:23,123 by the National Socialists on the Jews, is self-evident. 780 01:11:23,123 --> 01:11:27,056 So, it was no answer. 781 01:11:27,056 --> 01:11:32,288 On which material the court based its opinion, no answer, 782 01:11:32,288 --> 01:11:35,325 other than a very vague one, to wit, 783 01:11:35,325 --> 01:11:41,774 passing it all off to, quote: newspapers, television and radio material, 784 01:11:41,774 --> 01:11:49,024 reference works and history books. End quote. 785 01:11:49,024 --> 01:11:54,770 So, in other words, if one wants to know why one has been convicted, 786 01:11:54,770 --> 01:12:00,150 then one should read it in the newspapers, 787 01:12:00,150 --> 01:12:07,096 it's not stated in the court decision and verdict, 788 01:12:07,096 --> 01:12:12,273 but to be read in the tabloids, apparently! 789 01:12:14,234 --> 01:12:17,869 So, there's an essential point here. 790 01:12:17,869 --> 01:12:21,467 The newspapers, what's in the newspapers, then? 791 01:12:24,146 --> 01:12:32,387 A French historian by the name of Jacques Beynac, 792 01:12:32,387 --> 01:12:40,366 was quoted in the Swiss newspaper, Le Nouveau Quotidien de Lausanne, 793 01:12:40,366 --> 01:12:45,065 in September 1996. 794 01:12:45,065 --> 01:12:52,803 He said, "When it comes to the existence of Nazi gas chambers, 795 01:12:52,803 --> 01:12:56,665 one can only point to the absence of documents, 796 01:12:56,665 --> 01:13:01,585 physical traces and other material evidence." 797 01:13:01,585 --> 01:13:04,751 One can only point to the absence of documents, 798 01:13:04,751 --> 01:13:12,030 physical traces and other material evidence. 799 01:13:12,030 --> 01:13:16,154 This opinion of a French historian, 800 01:13:16,154 --> 01:13:19,727 who specializes in the history of the Holocaust, 801 01:13:19,727 --> 01:13:29,029 does this not show that the "obviousness" could and should be questioned in court? 802 01:13:29,029 --> 01:13:35,577 Another historian, Ernst Nolte, 803 01:13:35,577 --> 01:13:44,390 wrote in his book, The Causal Nexus, quote: 804 01:13:44,390 --> 01:13:49,440 "The witness testimonies are, for the most part, based on hearsay, 805 01:13:49,440 --> 01:13:52,055 and assumptions. 806 01:13:52,055 --> 01:13:57,122 The few eye-witness testimonies we have, are in part contradictory, 807 01:13:57,122 --> 01:14:05,271 and raise questions regarding their credibility." 808 01:14:05,271 --> 01:14:10,505 The historian Hans Mommsen was quoted in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, saying, 809 01:14:10,505 --> 01:14:18,415 "The Holocaust was not, not, ordered by Hitler." 810 01:14:18,415 --> 01:14:23,812 Again statements showing that questions 811 01:14:23,812 --> 01:14:27,167 regarding the "obviousness" of the Holocaust are valid. 812 01:14:27,167 --> 01:14:34,596 The last statement I would like to read is from Fritjof Meyer. 813 01:14:34,596 --> 01:14:39,045 In the journal Osteuropa in an article entitled, 814 01:14:39,045 --> 01:14:46,887 The number of Auschwitz Victims: New insights from new-found archives, 815 01:14:46,887 --> 01:14:49,855 he wrote the following with regard to the crime-scene. 816 01:14:49,855 --> 01:14:52,672 He is editor at Der Spiegel, by the way... 817 01:14:52,672 --> 01:14:59,156 And in May 2002 this journal came out in which he states 818 01:14:59,156 --> 01:15:06,865 that the genocide did not happen within Auschwitz concentration camp, 819 01:15:06,865 --> 01:15:24,258 but, quote: Probably, in two farmhouses outside of the camp. 820 01:15:24,258 --> 01:15:27,644 So, the genocide did not happen inside the camp, 821 01:15:27,644 --> 01:15:31,838 but probably in two farmhouses outside of the camp. 822 01:15:31,838 --> 01:15:40,580 Again this shows the need for discussion of the "obviousness" of the Holocaust. 823 01:15:45,695 --> 01:15:53,731 Here the Federal Constitutional Court, I'll leave some of it out, 824 01:15:53,731 --> 01:15:56,573 but this is very important, I feel, 825 01:15:56,573 --> 01:16:09,188 states its position regarding the criminality of Holocaust denial. 826 01:16:09,188 --> 01:16:11,224 It comes clean with regard to freedom of speech, 827 01:16:11,224 --> 01:16:14,553 but since it is a specific freedom of speech, 828 01:16:14,553 --> 01:16:16,826 it is a special law. 829 01:16:16,826 --> 01:16:24,638 A special law is unconstitutional because a specific opinion is forbidden. 830 01:16:24,638 --> 01:16:32,392 It was determined by the supreme court in a relatively new decision, in 2009, 831 01:16:32,392 --> 01:16:37,101 that it was a special law. 832 01:16:37,101 --> 01:16:39,831 That it's been officially determined to be a special law 833 01:16:39,831 --> 01:16:41,887 is an advance. 834 01:16:41,887 --> 01:16:45,617 It just remains to declare it unconstitutional 835 01:16:45,617 --> 01:16:52,405 and abolished it, the offence of Holocaust denial. 836 01:16:52,405 --> 01:17:03,934 However, I will not spare you their reasons for not doing so, 837 01:17:03,934 --> 01:17:08,405 the justifications given by the supreme court. 838 01:17:18,066 --> 01:17:20,284 In the so-called Wunsiedel decision, 839 01:17:20,284 --> 01:17:24,598 the Federal Constitutional Court declared that the Federal Republic of Germany 840 01:17:24,598 --> 01:17:30,911 is by way of exception allowed to keep special statutes such as paragraph 130. 841 01:17:30,911 --> 01:17:35,049 That is, in fact, criminalize a particular opinion 842 01:17:35,049 --> 01:17:39,023 with implied prohibition of defence and prohibition of evidence. 843 01:17:39,023 --> 01:17:42,675 Germany is by exception allowed to keep this special statute 844 01:17:42,675 --> 01:17:50,148 because of, quote: The unique historical identity 845 01:17:50,148 --> 01:17:52,020 of the Federal Republic of Germany, 846 01:17:52,020 --> 01:17:54,866 in contrast to National Socialism. 847 01:17:54,866 --> 01:17:57,597 In other words, they are allowed to do it, 848 01:17:57,597 --> 01:18:01,096 because it's the Federal Republic of Germany. 849 01:18:01,096 --> 01:18:04,785 This is naturally a very pretty formulation. 850 01:18:04,785 --> 01:18:10,383 A clear case of arbitrary despotism. 851 01:18:10,383 --> 01:18:15,281 The second explanation given which is not stated so boldly, 852 01:18:15,281 --> 01:18:23,285 but which is given in another part of this decision. 853 01:18:23,285 --> 01:18:31,870 It's not exactly defined, but it talks about singular breaches. 854 01:18:31,870 --> 01:18:37,821 One might conclude from it, that in the case of a singular type of breach 855 01:18:37,821 --> 01:18:46,566 the hearing of evidence is superfluous and punishable. 856 01:18:46,566 --> 01:18:51,168 The hearing of evidence is superfluous and punishable 857 01:18:51,168 --> 01:18:54,871 when it is a unique crime. 858 01:18:54,871 --> 01:18:59,317 Do you find any logic in that? 859 01:18:59,317 --> 01:19:02,975 So, that is in the end the two pillars 860 01:19:02,975 --> 01:19:06,871 on which the punishability of Holocaust denial is based. 861 01:19:06,871 --> 01:19:11,657 The legal philosophy or legal grounds 862 01:19:11,657 --> 01:19:19,138 for justifying the punishability of Holocaust denial 863 01:19:19,138 --> 01:19:23,174 is the historical identity of the Federal Republic of Germany 864 01:19:23,174 --> 01:19:26,507 and the uniqueness of the crime. 865 01:19:26,507 --> 01:19:32,646 Because of that no presentation of one's case is required. 866 01:19:32,646 --> 01:19:36,139 Revisions and constitutional complaint are regularly rejected 867 01:19:36,139 --> 01:19:39,773 as being obviously ungrounded. 868 01:19:39,773 --> 01:19:46,181 This has the effect of making reasons for the decision unnecessary. 869 01:19:46,181 --> 01:19:49,794 If something is obviously without grounds there can be no grounds for it. 870 01:19:49,794 --> 01:19:52,212 That's practical! 871 01:19:52,212 --> 01:19:55,936 So, no answer there either. 872 01:19:55,936 --> 01:19:59,980 What can one say, one does not get an answer. 873 01:20:04,665 --> 01:20:09,231 I heard myself during the trial of Ernst Zündel 874 01:20:09,231 --> 01:20:13,059 the following said by judge Meinerzhagen. 875 01:20:13,059 --> 01:20:18,014 If it were just I who told you, probably no one would believe me. 876 01:20:18,014 --> 01:20:20,014 Naturally, it's not in the court transcript. 877 01:20:20,014 --> 01:20:24,288 But Die Tageszeitung, the so-called TAZ, 878 01:20:24,288 --> 01:20:29,781 rendered the service of reporting it. 879 01:20:34,642 --> 01:20:38,719 I quote from Die Tageszeitung, the TAZ, from 9 February 2007, 880 01:20:38,719 --> 01:20:41,343 reporting on the trial against Ernst Zündel: 881 01:20:45,103 --> 01:20:50,812 In the end, the court tersely refused all petitions 882 01:20:50,812 --> 01:20:56,010 on grounds which came as a shock to some anti-Fascist members of the public, 883 01:20:56,010 --> 01:21:05,361 that it was completely irrelevant whether the Holocaust took place or not, 884 01:21:05,361 --> 01:21:19,560 its denial was illegal in Germany and that was all that concerned the court. 885 01:21:19,560 --> 01:21:24,377 To conclude, I left some things out, of course ... 886 01:21:24,377 --> 01:21:33,431 ... to conclude, or rather in preparation for my conclusion, 887 01:21:33,431 --> 01:21:42,354 let's consider how one can change things. 888 01:21:42,354 --> 01:21:48,217 I see all over the place, one reads on the Internet, in newspapers, 889 01:21:48,217 --> 01:21:55,477 that many distance themselves from the Nazis. 890 01:21:55,477 --> 01:21:59,149 There are people, for example, 891 01:21:59,149 --> 01:22:04,431 who know fully what happens [in cases like we're discussiing], 892 01:22:04,431 --> 01:22:08,670 but who nonetheless say, "I am, however, no Nazi." 893 01:22:08,670 --> 01:22:15,843 And they distance themselves from others who might be described as Nazis. 894 01:22:15,843 --> 01:22:21,402 They say, "Don't call me a Nazi. I'm not one. I'm not one of them, 895 01:22:21,402 --> 01:22:21,415 those Nazis." They say, "Don't call me a Nazi. I'm not one. I'm not one of them, 896 01:22:21,415 --> 01:22:23,607 those Nazis." 897 01:22:23,607 --> 01:22:32,055 They mean only they would unjustly be described as evil Nazis; 898 01:22:32,055 --> 01:22:36,928 the others would justly be described as evil Nazis. 899 01:22:36,928 --> 01:22:38,860 It's been like that for me. 900 01:22:38,860 --> 01:22:42,619 I was first called a Nazi many years ago 901 01:22:42,619 --> 01:22:46,990 on an information stand against experiments on animals. 902 01:22:46,990 --> 01:22:54,455 "You must be Nazis, Hitler was also a vegetarian." 903 01:22:54,455 --> 01:23:03,254 At that I began to ask myself what Nazis actually are, 904 01:23:03,254 --> 01:23:11,011 because with my picture of Nazis, I could not attune myself 905 01:23:11,011 --> 01:23:17,623 to the idea that I should be a Nazi, as a defender of animal rights. 906 01:23:17,644 --> 01:23:23,400 The next time I was described as a Nazi was in relation to philosophy. 907 01:23:23,400 --> 01:23:29,210 When one studies Plato, when one speaks about Plato, 908 01:23:29,210 --> 01:23:33,363 Plato is considered the forerunner of the National Socialists, 909 01:23:33,363 --> 01:23:36,719 a forerunner of Hitler, someone who prepared the way, 910 01:23:36,719 --> 01:23:43,744 because he was, for example, a severe critic of democracy, 911 01:23:43,744 --> 01:23:49,731 he rejected the democratic system. 912 01:23:49,736 --> 01:23:59,706 This is one of the reasons why one condemns Plato, in part. 913 01:23:59,744 --> 01:24:03,089 Or one asserts, I've also read, 914 01:24:03,089 --> 01:24:06,324 that he said something quite different about democracy. 915 01:24:06,324 --> 01:24:10,951 That's not true, but just to mention it. 916 01:24:10,951 --> 01:24:17,745 One tries to alter the image. 917 01:24:17,745 --> 01:24:22,830 When one doesn't want to attack Plato, one says he said something different, 918 01:24:22,830 --> 01:24:26,120 although it stands unambiguously in his book The Republic. 919 01:24:26,120 --> 01:24:33,541 It is not to be denied that he was a severe critic of democracy. 920 01:24:33,554 --> 01:24:42,161 Anyway, these were the first times that I was called a Nazi, 921 01:24:42,176 --> 01:24:48,954 and I got really interested in what a Nazi is. 922 01:24:48,954 --> 01:24:51,236 One must build a picture for oneself. 923 01:24:51,236 --> 01:24:57,424 One must get to know people who are described as Nazis, 924 01:24:57,434 --> 01:25:00,200 and people who consider themselves Nazis. 925 01:25:00,200 --> 01:25:02,285 Both, they're not the same. 926 01:25:02,285 --> 01:25:06,799 But it is interesting to get to know both, then one get a picture for oneself. 927 01:25:06,802 --> 01:25:08,506 One should do. 928 01:25:08,506 --> 01:25:10,307 That is crucial. 929 01:25:10,307 --> 01:25:13,656 That one doesn't engage in this exclusion. 930 01:25:13,656 --> 01:25:19,191 Well, one asks, who then is not a Nazi. 931 01:25:19,191 --> 01:25:22,252 Because anyone who says anything meaningful, 932 01:25:22,252 --> 01:25:25,502 or does anything useful, anything healing, 933 01:25:25,502 --> 01:25:29,844 he must sooner or later expect to be called a Nazi. 934 01:25:29,844 --> 01:25:33,512 (Applause) 935 01:25:39,583 --> 01:25:45,131 Which means he should not be listened to. 936 01:25:45,131 --> 01:25:49,285 Suddenly, he is labelled a Nazi, 937 01:25:49,285 --> 01:25:53,865 and from then on one is not to listen to him any more, 938 01:25:53,865 --> 01:26:01,426 because one could be corrupted, one could be ... um, well, what ... 939 01:26:01,426 --> 01:26:05,456 I cannot understand what people are afraid of. 940 01:26:05,456 --> 01:26:09,767 Probably they are much less worried by those called Nazis, 941 01:26:09,767 --> 01:26:14,051 than they are worried of being ostracized 942 01:26:14,051 --> 01:26:17,495 if they have anything to do with a Nazi. 943 01:26:17,495 --> 01:26:20,956 It's not the Nazis being dangerous, 944 01:26:20,956 --> 01:26:25,853 but the consequences when one carries on with someone who is considered a Nazi. 945 01:26:29,559 --> 01:26:33,883 It's nothing to do with what is true and what is untrue, 946 01:26:33,883 --> 01:26:36,005 what is useful or harmful; 947 01:26:36,005 --> 01:26:39,113 it's just about who has said it. 948 01:26:39,113 --> 01:26:43,912 And when it's someone considered a Nazi who says something, 949 01:26:43,912 --> 01:26:45,912 then it must be false. 950 01:26:45,912 --> 01:26:48,177 One doesn't want to be concerned with it, 951 01:26:48,177 --> 01:26:50,001 it is in any case false, 952 01:26:50,001 --> 01:26:52,731 it is worse than false, it is repulsive, 953 01:26:52,731 --> 01:26:55,066 by nature. 954 01:26:55,066 --> 01:26:59,936 Now, a very important point in relation to this. 955 01:26:59,936 --> 01:27:10,062 Recently, the opinions of groups purporting to maintain an ideal standard 956 01:27:10,062 --> 01:27:13,556 are increasing on the Internet. 957 01:27:13,556 --> 01:27:18,985 They distance themselves from Nazis and right-wing extremists, 958 01:27:18,985 --> 01:27:21,198 they say they want nothing to do with them. 959 01:27:21,198 --> 01:27:26,820 A few months ago, I read of a call to demonstration 960 01:27:26,820 --> 01:27:28,729 against the ESM, [European Stability Mechanism] 961 01:27:28,729 --> 01:27:34,270 first only against the ESM and then against the ESM and right-wing extremism. 962 01:27:40,825 --> 01:27:45,678 For me, when someone distances himself, 963 01:27:45,678 --> 01:27:53,100 it shows that he does not understand what is going on. 964 01:27:53,100 --> 01:27:56,071 (Applause) 965 01:28:00,946 --> 01:28:07,168 And such a group I would not join, because I would lose perspective, 966 01:28:07,168 --> 01:28:13,361 not because they might not want me, but because I would lose my own perspective. 967 01:28:16,784 --> 01:28:21,084 When one wants to avoid being called a Nazi, 968 01:28:21,084 --> 01:28:24,185 and there are many such people, 969 01:28:24,185 --> 01:28:30,021 most people want to avoid being called a Nazi, 970 01:28:30,021 --> 01:28:32,059 what does that involve? 971 01:28:32,059 --> 01:28:42,740 It involves, results in, holding aside important issues. 972 01:28:42,740 --> 01:28:46,071 When one addresses serious issues, 973 01:28:46,071 --> 01:28:51,832 when one gets to the heart of the matter, 974 01:28:51,832 --> 01:28:57,371 then the danger of being called a Nazi arises very quickly. 975 01:28:57,371 --> 01:29:08,506 But, holding aside important issues, one is ineffective, totally ineffective. 976 01:29:08,506 --> 01:29:25,099 One works for what already exists, but not at all for something different. 977 01:29:25,099 --> 01:29:31,169 I really will end soon. 978 01:29:31,169 --> 01:29:36,302 I would like to consider shortly who is decidedly called a Nazi. 979 01:29:36,302 --> 01:29:39,921 This is a very interesting matter to me. 980 01:29:41,377 --> 01:29:47,317 Naturally, as a denier of the Holocaust, 981 01:29:47,317 --> 01:29:51,014 or as one who takes the national standpoint, 982 01:29:51,014 --> 01:29:53,120 one is very quickly called a Nazi. 983 01:29:53,120 --> 01:29:57,780 When one simply takes to the interests of one's people, 984 01:29:57,780 --> 01:29:59,780 then ... "Nazi." 985 01:29:59,780 --> 01:30:03,332 (Applause) 986 01:30:09,292 --> 01:30:18,171 When one speaks of interest slavery ... "Nazi." 987 01:30:18,171 --> 01:30:20,171 (Applause) 988 01:30:23,506 --> 01:30:27,315 There's another word which is very closely connected with it: 989 01:30:27,315 --> 01:30:29,654 anti-semite. 990 01:30:29,654 --> 01:30:34,998 It is almost identical, anti-semite and Nazi, 991 01:30:34,998 --> 01:30:43,600 in the propaganda, so to speak, of the opponents, the Nazi opponents. 992 01:30:43,600 --> 01:30:49,632 Who, for example, connects the following terms with the Jews, 993 01:30:49,632 --> 01:30:54,755 is called a right-wing or left-wing anti-semite, 994 01:30:54,755 --> 01:30:58,158 and sometimes punished. 995 01:30:58,158 --> 01:31:00,950 The following terms, for example: 996 01:31:00,950 --> 01:31:04,534 international finance, 997 01:31:04,534 --> 01:31:07,856 US East Coast, 998 01:31:07,856 --> 01:31:10,149 interest slavery, 999 01:31:10,149 --> 01:31:12,584 capitalism, 1000 01:31:12,584 --> 01:31:14,584 financial crisis, 1001 01:31:14,584 --> 01:31:16,657 globalization, 1002 01:31:16,657 --> 01:31:19,018 democratization, 1003 01:31:19,018 --> 01:31:21,634 Highgrade Freemason, 1004 01:31:21,634 --> 01:31:23,634 EU, 1005 01:31:23,634 --> 01:31:25,634 UN, 1006 01:31:25,634 --> 01:31:29,347 or New World Order. 1007 01:31:29,347 --> 01:31:33,813 Whoever, for example, connects these terms with the Jews, 1008 01:31:33,813 --> 01:31:40,196 will be considered a right-wing or left-wing anti-semite and punished. 1009 01:31:40,196 --> 01:31:43,077 (Applause) 1010 01:31:43,077 --> 01:31:52,889 Equally, whoever opines the currency markets, the stock exchanges, 1011 01:31:52,889 --> 01:32:01,168 the democratic parties, the media are in Jewish hands. 1012 01:32:01,168 --> 01:32:03,464 For example, lawyer, Horst Mahler, 1013 01:32:03,464 --> 01:32:09,702 was sentenced in 1999 to over 10 years in jail 1014 01:32:09,702 --> 01:32:14,283 for Holocaust denial and anti-semitic remarks 1015 01:32:14,283 --> 01:32:16,574 and was arrested in the courtroom. 1016 01:32:16,574 --> 01:32:20,363 That is taken into custody immediately after sentencing, 1017 01:32:20,363 --> 01:32:21,959 just like me. 1018 01:32:21,959 --> 01:32:30,516 After the sentence was given, I was arrested. 1019 01:32:36,861 --> 01:32:41,916 I return to my beginning sentence, which is also my closing sentence, 1020 01:32:41,916 --> 01:32:44,742 "To think what is true, to sense what is beautiful, 1021 01:32:44,742 --> 01:32:48,065 and to want what is good." 1022 01:32:48,065 --> 01:32:54,401 This implies recognizing and denoting lies, 1023 01:32:54,401 --> 01:33:00,947 this implies recognizing and denoting inhumanity, 1024 01:33:00,947 --> 01:33:10,383 this implies recognizing and denoting injustice. 1025 01:33:10,383 --> 01:33:14,150 Belonging with this 1026 01:33:14,150 --> 01:33:20,860 are the qualities that are of particular importance today: 1027 01:33:23,457 --> 01:33:26,838 the consciousness of immortality, 1028 01:33:26,838 --> 01:33:32,399 steadfastness and incorruptibility. 1029 01:33:34,189 --> 01:33:39,113 With these qualities we might be able to create a world 1030 01:33:39,113 --> 01:33:41,960 for the children who are with us today, 1031 01:33:41,960 --> 01:33:48,436 a world in which one can speak the truth without being punished. 1032 01:33:48,436 --> 01:33:51,214 (Applause)