bishop Richard Williamson on trial in Germany

British bishop Richard Williamson to go on trial in Germany for Holocaust denial

By Allan Hall
Last updated at 6:19 PM on 10th November 2009

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British Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson faces trial in Germany for an outspoken TV interview in which he denied that the wartime extermination of the Jews took place.

The ultra-conservative Catholic cleric was hit with a fine of nearly £12,000 today by a court for his comments made to a Swedish television interviewer - but he refused to pay it.

Because Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany - and because he gave the interview while on German soil - he was prosecuted in Regensburg, near to the birthplace of Pope Benedict XVI, where he gave the interview.
Accused: Roman Catholic bishop Richard Williamson (centre) arriving at Heathrow airport in London in February this year

Accused: Roman Catholic bishop Richard Williamson (centre) arriving at Heathrow airport in London in February this year

Under the German legal system, he was served with an ‘order of punishment’ informing him of the penalty.

Such orders are intended to cut down on bureaucracy and costs if both sides agree with the fine, which also would mean a criminal conviction.

But Williamson did not agree. He is to appeal, paving the way for a full hearing which could prove highly embarrassing for the church once more - even though Williamson can absent himself from proceedings to be represented just by his lawyer.

A trial judge will demand to know why he believes that six million Jews were not murdered by the Nazis and on what facts he bases his views on.

In the controversial interview, Williamson alleged that Nazi gas chambers had never existed and 'only 200,000 to 300,000 Jews' had been killed by the Nazis.

He went on to claim that historical evidence was 'hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler... I believe there were no gas chambers.'
David Irvin

Advice: Williamson contacted Holocaust denier David Irvine, who served time in Austria for his beliefs, for tips on how to 'present' his views

He added: 'I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in the Nazi concentration camps but none of them in gas chambers.'

Williamson is the first person to appear in court for denying the holocaust since military historian David Irving sued Dr Deborah Lipstadt for libel in 2000.

Dr Lipstadt wrote Denying The Holocaust: The Growing Assault On Truth And Memory in 1993, which discussed a number of Holocaust deniers including Irving.

She won her case, with Judge Charles Gray finding Irving had 'significantly misconstrued the historical evidence in order to achieve his ideological presentation of history'.

Judge Gray also found that Irving was an 'active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-semitic and racist, and that he associates with right-wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism'.

The Pope, as well as Jewish leaders around the world, was horrified by Williamson's comments, which go against the verdict of mainstream historians.

Williamson’s timing in making the offending statement could not have been worse. They were made in January, shortly after the pontiff welcome him back into the church after his excommunication because of his right-wing views.

Williamson was consecrated a bishop by the pope's Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), an ultraconservative splinter group. The Vatican did not rescind his re-entry into the church, saying it had not known about his controversial views on the Holocaust.

Williamson said through his lawyer that he was assured his offending remarks would not be broadcast in Germany but only in Sweden, where there is no law against Holocaust denial.

Prosecutors had received a letter from the Swedish television producers in which they denied offering any assurance to Williamson that the interview, conducted in English, would be broadcast in Sweden only.


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Williamson's German lawyer, Matthias Lossmann, said his client had been told to pay €100 a day for 120 days, and he was likely to appeal.

'If he does, there will be a proper trial in Regensburg, which Williamson will not be forced to attend,' he said.

But statements from him via his lawyer will be expected to be given in evidence.

Williamson was resident at a seminary in Argentina when the Holocaust row broke and he was ordered out of the country by the government in Buenos Aires in February.

When he arrived back in the UK he stoked further controversy when it was learned he contacted arch-Holocaust denier David Irving for advice on how to 'present' his views.

Irving, who served time in Austria for his Holocaust denials, said: 'He is obviously a very intelligent man who did not realise the danger of talking to the press. He is not a Holocaust denier. Like me, he does not buy the whole package.'

Read more: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1226673/British-bishop-Richard-Williamson-trial-Germany-Holocaust-denial.html#ixzz0X0KEU4K9