Posted on 03/01/2006 7:06:07 AM PST by rcocean
Vienna - Austrian prosecutors said Wednesday they would have to act over a fresh denial of the Nazi Holocaust by jailed British historian David Irving.
The new denial came in interviews with several British journalists in his Austrian prison cell, where he is beginning a three-year sentence.
A spokesman of the state prosecution said: 'We're going to have to react to that. We can't overlook it.' It was possible that Irving had again broken Austrian laws banning Nazi 'revivalism
(Excerpt) Read more at news.monstersandcritics.com ...
Austria may prosecute him one more time.
Much as I despise this guy, I despise Austria's draconian laws even more.
Hey, when in a foreign country, you gotta follow the rules. If this guy things he can go wherever he likes, say whatever he likes, hes mistaken.
And happily, he now gets a taste of what living in a totalitarian state is like!
(Im not saying Austria is totalitarian, but curbs on speech represent something of the sort).
This law was enacted while Austria was still under the control of the Allies.
Its easy to judge this law 60 years on.
You have to take into account the nature of the crime, and the time.
Germany and Austria were broken nations there cities devastated, millions dead, starvation in the cities and country side, four occupying powers and the shame and horror of the final solution hanging round there head.
They were the lepers of the world. David Irvine new what he was up to, as a Historian he new all about the history of this law, but like the holocaust it was a minor detail in his role as a self publicist.
Apparently his opinion is a terminal case, next stop euthanasia. (sarc I think)
Not sure we want people like Irving to be getting any ideas from these people.
The speech codes are not of a piece with the anti-nazi legislation imposed by the Allies ~ they must be viewed as something different ~ more like a resurgence of traditional authoritarian norms.
Austria will be seeking a 'final solution' to people like Irving if they refuse to stop expressing their opinions.
We have debated this on other threads as I say before you judge walk in there shoes.
You have to think back to what it was like then.
Got a excellent book at home will bring in the title, for you as you seem to be interested in Germany and Austria.
It will help you gather that sense of perspective I am talking about.
LOL Now that is complete and utter bollox.
That sounds like that kind of stupid statement people come out with when they say this is not a million miles from what the Nazis did when some official annoys you.
I was also on the Zimbabwe desk 1999 so I know about Mugabe's camps
They should research their own history and find out where they went wrong and fix that.
The Jeffersonian revolutions of the 1840s would probably be a good stopping point. Their elites should finally give up their idea that there's an European "third way" and implement the reforms demanded at that time.
That'll at least get them off on a good footing.
It's the sort of thing you never forget.
This will, no doubt, backfire on the Austrians. I can't help but believe that this will spread DI's point of view even further. If he was allowed to speak freely, and his thesis was opened up to critical reviews from his peers, the end result would probably further reduce his reputation to that of 'ultra crackpot'. But now that an academic is headed to jail (simply for having a disagreement with history) it will gain him sympathy from others, possibly even some Jews.
Its also a good one.
As for they should research their own history and find out where they went wrong and fix that.
LOL I think that adage could apply to all of us Nations as well as individuals.
Don't be too smug about your right in America, America has not been put to a real test yet.
One day something may happen and you may find all your rigfhts disappearing and for all you know you may even support that mobe because a national crisis dictates it to be so.
LOL I remember the Cold war when many Right wingers stated that to beat the Communists we needed to give up more of are rights.
I have seen this stated here on FR.
Just saying it will get you prosecuted.
The Austrians have put a lot of fear into the process, and with no effect other than to eliminate even critical comments of the man.
I bet you smart mouthed them.
I tried to go into the Netherlands once from West Germany and thought my Army ID card was enough, it wasn't I needed a passport all they did at customs was to hold me and then put me on the first train back.
If you recall, communism was much more about behavior than it was speech, if it was speech at all. Commies don't go for that free speech thing anyway.
Anyway, didn't smart mouth the guy. Just that he couldn't read my three-day pass (which I had to have along with my ID).
This was a young border guard guy on a Sunday afternoon ~ probably doing overtime.
They'd had some trouble with German speaking Italians at the time, so the border guards were touchy.
Turnedout the guard knew German, he knew Italian, he knew Serbo-Croat, and some other Slavic languages, but he didn't know English.
My German was "bad" ~ but my Latin was much better, and so was his.
Explanations were figured out, his machine pistol went back over his shoulder, and I was released to cross over into Germany.
Lots of fun. Only other time I ever had to use Latin was in Luxembourg at a gas station.
My Latin is now quite rusty.
LOL just more proof about one rule for the Yanks and another for us Brits.
When were you out there my tour in West Germany was 1985 to 1987.
Based in Dortmund
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