[cmvc3]

It seems a bit silly to fine him to me since when I visited Dachau I was told by the tour guide that the gas chambers were not ever used. Then again, his defense counsel saying that "had paid attention in his history lessons and knew there was a Holocaust" sounds a bit like "I know I was told that there was a Holocaust but I don't believe it" so maybe he should have been fined.

[Texaggie79]

American Liberals are taking note.

[Fred Mertz]

Beyond his grave in his Bavarian home town of Wunsiedel, Rudolf Hess remains a source of fascination for Germany's small band of neo-Nazis who regard him as a martyr and believe he was murdered by his British captors.

Is there any truth to this?

[spectre]

Did your "tour guide" also tell you that the ovens were built by the Americans to "scare the tourists away"?

[Jhoffa_]

I don't think he should be fined for this.

You don't fine people for differing opinions, no matter how ridiculous. That just opens the door for manipulators like JJ and Sharpton, NOW! and the rest of the bottom feeders.

I would rather politely tell one guy that I think he's full of crap and simply disagree with him today than be fined for speaking my mind tomorrow.

[NYCVirago]

Hess was quoted as saying there were no gas chambers in Dachau concentration camp near Munich during the Second World War and that the Americans installed them afterwards to scare tourists, Munich district court said.

Wolf Andreas Hess, a 23-year-old student, had only been trying to assemble historical documentation about his grandfather, the defense counsel said....

Hess fell into Allied hands in 1941 after parachuting into Scotland in an apparent personal bid to broker peace with Britain.

Hess was out of the picture in 1941 -- how in the world would he have known whether or not the gas chambers were real?

[malarski]

Hess fell into Allied hands in 1941 after parachuting into Scotland in an apparent personal bid to broker peace with Britain.

Will we ever know, what was the true purpose of his mission and if it was Hitler's approved?

[Snuffington]

While I recognize the sensitivity of the German government on this topic, it's an act of silliness to fine people for posting historical documents without endorsement of their views. It's an Orwellian attempt to sanitize the past. Did Hess actually say these things? Apparently the answer is yes. Are Germans allowed to admit that he did? Apparently the answer is no. Hess said "X." But since we don't agree with "X" you can't say that Hess said "X." What nonsense.

[Jhoffa_]

Indiana, United States (Reuters) - A member of the conservative internet forum "Free Republic" named Jhoffa_ was fined for public incitement on Thursday after putting Pro-Second Amendment remarks on the Internet.

Wonder who get's to define "incitement" in Germany?

Sig Heil!

[ChicagoRepublican]

I read over this story analytically and from the information given I would credit Wolf the benefit of my doubt. It is quite possible he was assembling information about his infamous grandfather and posted some of it on the internet. If I was compiling information about one of my great grandparents and posted a rascist quote that he said about African-Americans, I wouldn't want to fined for "inciting anger." I understand what American culture was like back then and I abhor the rascism. It is quite possibly Hess's grandson abhors Nazism and the Holocaust.

On the other hand he might just be another Neo-Nazi. It wouldn't be a surprise. East Germany is a breeding ground for extremism, both Nazi and Communist.

[lizma]

"I visited Dachau I was told by the tour guide that the gas chambers were not ever used."

When did you go? My feeling is that the Germans owned up to that years ago.

Went to to the Berlin Wall a few months after it fell. I have nevered(SP? and that doesn't even look like a word. Dang, public school.) or will never witness a mixture of sadness and joy than I witnessed on that day.

But what I see today in Germany is a bunch of spineless socialist, feeling bad for their grandpa's past, and very worried about American corporations. A rebirth of totalitarian.

It doesn't even cross there minds. Amazing! And they think I'm the odd-ball out.

[jmp702]

The 43-member Council of Europe wants to ban racist and hateful content from the Internet as part of the Cybercrime Convention ratified last November. Chris Evans argues that banning hate speech can only strengthen the ability of those in power to silence their critics.

An edited version of this article appears in Practical Internet issue 62.

The problem with banning hate speech is that it can only ever be applied in a one-sided way. It is certain to be applied to the National Front and other old-fashioned right wing organisations, even though few of them explicitly advocate violence or hatred. But would it apply to George W. Bush saying, "I have called our military into action to hunt down the members of the Al Qaeda organization...I gave fair warning to the government that harbors them in Afghanistan"? Doesn't that advocate violence against a minority group? Couldn't it constitute incitement to racial hatred of Afghans?

The reality is that banning hate speech can only strengthen the ability of those in positions of power to silence those with whom they differ. And that applies just as much as to those who criticize the Government for its environmental policies, or for bombing Afghanistan, as it does to a bunch of clapped-out, would-be Nazis.

Underlying calls for the banning of hate sites is the degraded notion that if people read hateful material they will necessarily accept it and act on it. This imparts speech with a power that it doesn't possess: the power to control your mind. The same mysticism is expressed by the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism when they describe Nazi memorabilia as "objects that incite racial hatred". The idea is that if I see a swastika I will somehow be driven to build a gas chamber. What motivates those who want to ban hate speech today is the deep-seated belief that you can't be trusted to draw the right conclusions about things and it would be far safer if they made up your mind for you.

Link

[rmlew]

It seems a bit silly to fine him to me since when I visited Dachau I was told by the tour guide that the gas chambers were not ever used.

I didn't know Aryan nations did tours!
I also thought the current revisionist BS was that they were used for delousing.

Having spoken to survivors, I can tell you that they were used about 3 times daily.
Then again, his defense counsel saying that "had paid attention in his history lessons and knew there was a Holocaust" sounds a bit like "I know I was told that there was a Holocaust but I don't believe it" so maybe he should have been fined.

I don't support Germnay's laws here. It makes Holocaust Denyers into martyrs instead of the scum they are.

[ICU812]

Nazis censoring Nazis, oh what a world!

[ambrose]

I studied the History of Jews in the Third Reich at UCLA, and the professor was one of the most renowned Holocaust scholars. He said that gas chambers were never used at DACHAU.

[WackyKat]

One of the American Left's fondest dreams is the enactment of "hate speech" laws here. I used to think the First Amendment was an unsurmountable obstacle for them, but now I believe that changing demographics may so alter the political climate and the judiciary that I may live to see the death of free speech.

[Khepera]

Maybe this guy wishes he lived in a free country where he could actually speak. How can one study history if its not allowed to be said?

[Clemenza]

Europeans are a bit "uptight" when it cames to "hate speech," that is, unless you are Gay or an immigrant. Let's hope that we never have such prohibitions against "hate speech" in our nation (I know they were tried on campus, but were struck down by the courts).

And to think, the Euro-philes condemn immigrants from Asia and Latin America, while asking for more uptight socialists from Europe who pass such stupid laws. Sheesh.

[Austin Willard Wright]

The key issue here is freedom of speech. The Germans obviously don't believe in it.

[pabianice]

That's a relief! I guess all my Polish and Ukrainian cousins weren't really murdered by the Nazis after all. They must simply have had unlisted phone numbers since 1943.