87-year-old 'Nazi Grandma' to serve jail time

In Germany anyone who publicly denies, endorses or plays down the events of the Holocaust can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail.

German chancellor Adolf Hitler looks out at a rally staged by the Nazi Party (photo credit: Courtesy)
German chancellor Adolf Hitler looks out at a rally staged by the Nazi Party
(photo credit: Courtesy)
German author and Holocaust revisionist Ursula Haverbeck, age 87, was sentenced to serve eight months in jail after claiming that no Jews were murdered in Auschwitz.
On Friday a German court sentenced Haverbeck on charges of sedition.
Under the German criminal code, Volksverhetzung, or incitement of the people, bans incitement to hatred against any segment of the population.
Anyone who publicly denies, endorses or plays down the events of the Holocaust can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail.
According to German media Deutsche Welle, Haverbeck lacked "any kind of respect" during proceedings and made further offensive comments in the courtroom.
Haverbeck claims that Auschwitz was nothing more than a labor camp and that no evidence exists proving otherwise.
Reports also show that the 87-year-old has a long record of radical right-wing activity including distribution of Nazi propaganda, penning a Holocaust denying letter to a German mayor to voice her support for ex-Nazi guard Rainer Heller during his trial and declaring on television that "the Holocaust is the biggest and most sustainable lie in history."
Haverbeck has been fined by multiple courts and has received two jail sentences.