Latest news with #HolocaustDenial
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Horst Mahler, 89, Dies; Voice of the German Far Left, Then the Far Right
Horst Mahler, a German lawyer who over his long career lurched from a starring role in the violent world of 1970s far-left radicalism to spouting neo-Nazi hate speech in the 2000s as a leading figure in the country's far-right movement, died on Sunday in Berlin. He was 89. His lawyer, Jan Dollwetzel, confirmed the death, in a hospital. Over the decades, many 1960s radicals came to renounce their youthful idealism. What set Mr. Mahler apart was the vast distance he traveled across the political spectrum — from Communist revolutionary to Holocaust denier — not to mention his prominence in each camp. In 1970, he helped found the Red Army Faction, or R.A.F., a guerrilla group that terrorized German society for years. Three decades later, he returned to the national spotlight when he successfully defended the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany against an effort to ban it. Mr. Mahler spent long stretches of his adult life in prison — first for his part in a string of bank robberies by the R.A.F. and then, in the 2000s and 2010s, for repeatedly denying the Holocaust and praising Adolf Hitler, both of which are crimes in Germany. Many of Mr. Mahler's erstwhile comrades on the left, including Gerhard Schröder, who went on to become chancellor, and Joschka Fischer, who later became foreign minister, considered him a tragic figure, if not mentally deranged. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
News24
a day ago
- Politics
- News24
Auschwitz museum launches online tool to fight Holocaust denial
The museum at the site of the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau launched on Wednesday a campaign to fight Holocaust denial on social media. The "Stop Denial" online tool helps individuals debunk common denialist arguments using "documents, photographs, witness accounts or the results of historical research", said the Auschwitz museum in southern Poland. It includes a manual instructing users to respond to denialist content on social media by commenting on posts with a link to the "Stop Denial" website. The museum cites examples of false claims it aims to debunk, such as statements like "Official documentation lacks information about the extermination at Auschwitz" and the "International Red Cross raised no objections after visit to camp". Museum director Piotr Cywinski said in a statement that in the past "few could look into the eyes of the living survivors and say in cold blood that all their testimonies were lies". "Today, there are few left. So anti-Semitic, xenophobic, populist voices are rising up," he added. Museum spokesman Bartosz Bartyzel said the launch of the campaign follows a "surge of negationist activity" across social media and in public discourse. "The best solution, help, rescue for disinformation is information," he told AFP. Earlier this month, MEP Grzegorz Braun - a candidate in this year's Polish presidential election who garnered more than 6% of the vote - claimed in a radio interview that "Auschwitz with gas chambers is unfortunately fake". In May, the museum warned against Facebook posts featuring AI-generated fictional images of camp victims. The museum has long used its social media accounts to share authentic victim photos and information to raise Holocaust awareness. Nazi Germany built the death camp in the city of Oswiecim after occupying Poland during World War II. The Holocaust site has become a symbol of Nazi Germany's genocide of 6 million European Jews, 1 million of whom died at the camp between 1940 and 1945. More than 100 000 non-Jews also died at Auschwitz-Birkenau, including non-Jewish Poles, Roma, and Soviet soldiers.
CTV News
a day ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Auschwitz museum launches tool to fight Holocaust denial
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is pictured in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Warsaw, Poland -- The museum at the site of the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau launched on Wednesday a campaign to fight Holocaust denial on social media. The 'Stop Denial' online tool helps individuals debunk common denialist arguments using 'documents, photographs, witness accounts or the results of historical research', said the Auschwitz museum in southern Poland. It includes a manual instructing users to respond to denialist content on social media by commenting on posts with a link to the 'Stop Denial' website. The museum cites examples of false claims it aims to debunk, such as statements like 'Official documentation lacks information about the extermination at Auschwitz' and the 'International Red Cross raised no objections after visit to camp'. Museum director Piotr Cywinski said in a statement that in the past 'few could look into the eyes of the living survivors and say in cold blood that all their testimonies were lies'. 'Today, there are few left. So anti-Semitic, xenophobic, populist voices are rising up,' he added. Museum spokesman Bartosz Bartyzel said the launch of the campaign follows a 'surge of negationist activity' across social media and in public discourse. 'The best solution, help, rescue for disinformation is information,' he told AFP. Earlier this month, MEP Grzegorz Braun -- a candidate in this year's Polish presidential election who garnered more than six percent of the vote -- claimed in a radio interview that 'Auschwitz with gas chambers is unfortunately fake'. In May, the museum warned against Facebook posts featuring AI-generated fictional images of camp victims. The museum has long used its social media accounts to share authentic victim photos and information to raise Holocaust awareness. Nazi Germany built the death camp in the city of Oswiecim after occupying Poland during World War II. The Holocaust site has become a symbol of Nazi Germany's genocide of six million European Jews, one million of whom died at the camp between 1940 and 1945. More than 100,000 non-Jews also died at Auschwitz-Birkenau, including non-Jewish Poles, Roma, and Soviet soldiers.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Horst Mahler, a German Holocaust denier who was once a far-left militant, dies at 89
Germany Obit Mahler BERLIN (AP) — Horst Mahler, a founding member of the left-wing Red Army Faction militant group who later became a right-wing extremist and accumulated a series of convictions, including for Holocaust denial, has died, a lawyer who represented him said Monday. He was 89. Mahler died on Sunday at a hospital in Berlin, Jan Dollwetzel, who represented Mahler at a trial in 2023, told German news agency dpa. Mahler, born on Jan. 23, 1936, became a lawyer and in 1969 defended militants Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin in a trial. Shortly afterward, he went on to found the Red Army Faction with them. The group, which emerged from German student protests against the Vietnam War, killed 34 people and injured hundreds of others in a violent campaign against what members considered U.S. imperialism and capitalist oppression of workers. It declared itself disbanded in 1998. In 1970, Mahler was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison over various bank robberies with a far-left motivation. He distanced himself from his extremist past while in custody and was released after 10 years. In 1987, he was readmitted to practice as a lawyer with the help of his then-defense attorney, Gerhard Schröder, who would later become German chancellor. In the 1990s, Mahler switched to the opposite political extreme, becoming a member of the far-right National Democratic Party for a few years. He represented the party in 2001 in its case against an unsuccessful attempt by authorities to ban it. Mahler racked up several convictions for denying the Holocaust, which earned him sentences totaling 10 years, and while in prison wrote a 200-page antisemitic screed that was put on the internet by unknown culprits. In 2017, he fled to Hungary after being ordered to return to prison following a break from serving his sentence due to serious illness. Mahler said after he was arrested that he had requested asylum, but his claim was not confirmed by authorities. He was extradited to Germany and returned to prison. Mahler was released in October 2020 and lived in Kleinmachnow, just outside Berlin. Another trial against him was shelved in April 2023 for health reasons and never resumed.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Horst Mahler, a german holocaust denier who was once a far-left militant, dies at 89
BERLIN (AP) – Horst Mahler, a founding member of the left-wing Red Army Faction militant group who later became a right-wing extremist and accumulated a series of convictions, including for Holocaust denial, has died, a lawyer who represented him said Monday. He was 89. Mahler died on Sunday at a hospital in Berlin, Jan Dollwetzel, who represented Mahler at a trial in 2023, told German news agency dpa. Mahler, born on Jan. 23, 1936, became a lawyer and in 1969 defended militants Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin in a trial. Shortly afterward, he went on to found the Red Army Faction with them. The group, which emerged from German student protests against the Vietnam War, killed 34 people and injured hundreds of others in a violent campaign against what members considered US imperialism and capitalist oppression of workers. It declared itself disbanded in 1998. In 1970, Mahler was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison over various bank robberies with a far-left motivation. He distanced himself from his extremist past while in custody and was released after 10 years. In 1987, he was readmitted to practice as a lawyer with the help of his then-defense attorney Gerhard Schröder, who would later become German chancellor. In the 1990s, Mahler switched to the opposite political extreme, becoming a member of the far-right National Democratic Party for a few years. He represented the party in 2001 in its case against an unsuccessful attempt by authorities to ban it. Mahler racked up several convictions for denying the Holocaust, which earned him sentences totaling 10 years, and while in prison wrote a 200-page antisemitic screed that was put on the internet by unknown culprits. In 2017, he fled to Hungary after being ordered to return to prison following a break from serving his sentence due to serious illness. Mahler said after he was arrested that he had requested asylum, but his claim was not confirmed by authorities. He was extradited to Germany and returned to prison. Mahler was released in October 2020 and lived in Kleinmachnow just outside Berlin. Another trial against him was shelved in April 2023 for health reasons and never resumed.
