Neo-Nazis Go on Trial for Burning a Copy of Anne Frank's Diary

A suspected German neo-Nazi has admitted that he publicly burned a copy of Anne Frank's diary, at the start of his trial, along with six others. All of the suspects stand accused of inciting racial hatred, as well as showing disrespect to the dead.

Prosecutors in the German city of Magdeburg said that Lars Konrad, 25, threw a copy of Anne Frank's diary onto a bonfire during a summer solstice party in June 2006. According to the indictment, the burning of the book took place in Pretzien, near Magdeburg, and that all the accused, who range in age from 24 to 29, went on to glorify the former Nazi regime.

Anne Frank wrote her diary between 1942-44 when she went into hiding with her family and four others in Amsterdam during World War II. She captured the very essence of the Nazi regime, in revealing the ways in which the Jews were being stripped of their German citizenship, and forced to stand out as different from other Germans by wearing the star of David. They were further de-humanized when they faced deportation to concentration camps across Europe. She died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, along with her mother and sister, in 1945, shortly before her 16th birthday. Here is an excerpt from her diary:

At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They're allowed to take only a rucksack and a little cash with them, and even then, they are robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed and their families gone. The Christians in Holland are also living in fear because their sons are being sent to Germany. Everyone is scared.

Germany has very strict laws in place to deal with neo-Nazism. Denying the Holocaust and inciting racial hatred are both offenses that carry a maximum prison term of five years in Germany. The Hitler salute and even wearing a T-shirt with a Nazi symbol or slogan on it are crimes that carry a prison sentence.

Mr Konrad's lawyer argued that his client was "merely trying to expiate an evil chapter in German history". However, state prosecutor Arnold Murra went on to argue that the defendants in the case "ridiculed Anne Frank and all those who died in the concentration camps". This court case has shocked Germany, making some wonder whether neo-Nazism is on the increase in some of the poorer areas of the former East Germany. But this case is just one out of many that shows Nazi sympathizers are far from gone. Unfortunately, Nazism did not die in the 1940s. But the German government is doing what it can to stamp out the influence of neo-Nazism in Germany.

Anne Frank wanted to become a writer and be famous after her death. She managed to achieve her dream, despite the actions of those who have chosen to malign her memory.

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6398571.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A581005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6072034.stm