It’s a new Germany!

I heard of the arrest of Hans Schmidt in an early morning telephone call from Dr. Miroslav Dragan. Unfortunately, it seems to be very hard to contact either Schmidt, or what steps to take in support of him. It makes one realize that accurate information and communication is vital in this sort of thing. In Argentina Schmidt would be known as a “desaparecido”—one who has disappeared through an act of the State. Hopefully, Schmidt will remain alive and well and there will be people who will help organize his defense.

I began to wonder under what law Schmidt was arrested so I telephoned the local consulate of Germany. After a little discussion, I was put in touch with the legal expert of the consulate, Herr Paul Harmel. He is an affable fellow, defensive of Germany’s position as a progressive democracy, and confused as to why I might question it. The conversation went exactly as follows:

Harmel: “Sir, we have no censorship laws in Germany.”

Me: “What about Holocaust Revisionist materials?’

Harmel: “Oh, they’re banned. What is your name again?”

Herr Harmel promised to investigate the matter for me and let me know what laws exist regulating free speech and book censorship. I believe that the laws regulating the importation of revisionist literature are harsher than those controlling most drugs. As the Schmidt and Leuchter cases show, even American citizens can be whacked by these laws. Over the next few weeks, I will attempt to get the German authorities to define the limits of these laws so that American citizens will know what speech is allowed and what is banned when they visit the Reich. —

(To be continued…)