German Court Jails Yuppie for Denying Holocaust

A Berlin court sentenced Bela Ewald Althans to 3 1/2 years in jail for denying that six million Jews were killed by the Third Reich. The court said Althans, who is only 29 years old, had spread racial hatred and denigrated the state by telling tourists at Auschwitz that the Holocaust was a myth.

Althans confrontation with the Auschwitz tourists was a key scene in a 1993 film documentary about Althans entitled, “Profession: Neo-Nazi.'' The film, meant to be a critical look at the neo-Nazi scene, shows Althans telling the concentration camp visitors, “What is happening here is a giant farce.''

Althans, who was dubbed the “yuppie Nazi'' by the German press because of his blond hair and stylish clothes, had already been sentenced to 18 months by a Munich court for incitement to racial hatred.

When the trial opened in July, he denied he was a neo-Nazi or had ever cast doubt on whether the Holocaust happened and said he had broken off all links to far-right groups. Althans told the court his comments had been taken out of context and twisted to give a false impression.

Under current German law, denying the Holocaust can be punished by up to five years in jail.