German justice is increasingly interested in the messages disseminated by anti-health restrictions activists. In their sights: comparisons between the Holocaust and public health measures.
Can we compare the anti-Covid restrictions to the Holocaust? In Germany, the question arises, while thousands of demonstrators have been marching for several weeks against the vaccination obligation, some brandishing banners referring to the Holocaust. “Among those currently protesting, some regularly resort to cynical comparisons to the Holocaust, relate The Sueddeutsche Zeitung. They hang yellow ‘Jewish stars’ around their necks with the words ‘unvaccinated’ or claim the current situation is ‘similar to 1933’.”
For a long time, German justice remained silent on the subject, says the Munich daily. “The investigations were abandoned. After weighing the pros and cons, prosecutors generally concluded that references to the Holocaust were not punishable by law.” But the trend is beginning to reverse. With the proliferation of Holocaust-related slogans and the appearance of demonstrators dressed as concentration camp prisoners, the courts have become more severe in their interpretation.
References to Auschwitz
The title cites several recent judgments along these lines. “In Bavaria, a 61-year-old man has just been sentenced for posting to a Facebook group […] a drawing depicting the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp with a sign reading ‘Impfen macht frei’”, explains the left-wing newspaper. This inscription – which means in French “the vaccine makes free” and refers to the famous Nazi message “work makes free” – earned him 60 day-fines, a prison sentence commuted to a financial contribution.
In Berlin, a user who posted on social networks the photo of a yellow star stamped “Not vaccinated”, was meanwhile sentenced to 80 day-fines for “incitement to hatred”. According to the judgment, the comparison between non-vaccinated people and Jews during the Holocaust “minimise” the gravity of the Holocaust. The image shared by the activist was accompanied by the message “The manhunt can begin again”.
The German Constitutional Court nevertheless advises caution in such cases. In Würzburg, the prosecution hesitated for a long time to initiate proceedings against ten antivax demonstrators who had displayed round and yellow stickers with the inscription “not vaccinated”. He finally opted for legal action, “due to the proximity to the historical site of the deportation of Jews from Würzburg” and similarities to the yellow star. But a legal victory is not assured.
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