31st day of trial against the 6 accused anti-fascists in the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court

The six defendants made statements on today's trial. You confessed to having been involved in the alleged attacks on Nazis in Budapest in February 2023 on Honor Day. At the same time, they made it unmistakably clear that they had never condoned the death of a human being or even the endangerment of a human life. On the contrary, they had ensured that any danger was always ruled out.

They literally said:

"The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses me, among other things, of having "accepted" the potential death of the injured parties. This portrayal of indifference towards a human life is unacceptable to me. For all those for whom it is not obvious that this charge is politically motivated, serves to denounce and deter, I would like to emphasize once again clearly that a possible result of death was in no way "accepted". On the contrary, the death of the attacked had to be certainly ruled out. This was essential for my actions.!

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"In my opinion, every life should be respected and nobody has to decide which life is worth living and which is not. Of course not me either."

The six defendants also commented in detail about their anti-fascist motivation. What was influential was the state's failure to investigate the NSU, which was operating in close proximity to them. He had his origins and solid network in Jena and also killed in Hamburg, among other places. The anti-Semitic and racist attacks in Halle and Hanau were mentioned again and again, as was the murder of Walter Lübcke by a right-wing extremist because he advocated humane treatment of refugees.

“This all happened because people don’t fit into other people’s worldviews because of their origins, appearance or way of life.”

Early in their youth, the social reality of right-wing extremist violence became noticeable not only for the defendants, most of whom grew up in East Germany. Especially after 2015, they experienced the massive rise of the right. Not only the successes of right-wing parties in elections, which sometimes lead to government responsibility, but also at the extra-parliamentary level, this upswing poses a concrete danger for migrant, Jewish and left-wing people.

"The East of Germany is my home. I have spent my entire life there and I enjoy living there. However, today I have mixed feelings about the places of my childhood, with which I have many fond memories. There is now a broad acceptance of fascist ideology in these places. Every second person who crosses my path there votes for a party that represents extreme right-wing positions, glorifies National Socialism and is proud of it." This would be clearly noticeable, especially if you were to drive out of student towns like Jena. While neo-Nazis move around undisturbed, sometimes calling out entire Nazi neighborhoods, other people, such as refugee men, women and children, have to fear being threatened and attacked.

One defendant talked about how her family was directly affected by the Nazi ideology's desire to destroy. Her mother has Hungarian roots. During her visits to Hungary, the defendant repeatedly asked herself why the part of her family was so much smaller than the German part. The answer: He is Jewish. She tells about the Hungarian collaborators of the German occupation and the biographies of their family members who died in concentration camps or through forced labor or were executed after anti-fascist resistance. Their names can now be found at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel.

The defendants emphasized why left-wing violence cannot be equated with right-wing violence and, conversely, why consistent anti-fascism must follow from increasing right-wing violence. Especially when the state fails in this regard, as was the case in recent years and also during the youth of the anti-fascists.

"Violence emanating from neo-Nazis and violence against neo-Nazis cannot be equated. Neo-Nazis represent an ideology that is based on the idea of the unequal value of people and aims to suppress and destroy those people who are viewed as less worthy. Violence is therefore inherent in their ideology. Neo-Nazi structures not only pose a danger to individual people and certain population groups, but also to our entire society. Antifascism is not terrorism, but a consistent and necessary confrontation with it “Resurgence of fascist structures and the everyday threat posed by neo-Nazis.”

On the Day of Honor in Budapest they said:

"The so-called 'Day of Honor' is the largest Nazi meeting in Europe in recent years. Under the guise of historical commemoration, it is primarily about taking up space and networking the militant neo-Nazi right-wing extremist scene. I had to oppose this decisively."

The open glorification of neo-Nazi ideology that took place there was also a recurring theme in the ongoing trial. This does not experience any restrictions in Hungary, but on the contrary is supported by the state. It was explained what it means to learn from the past, from the crimes of neo-Nazi Germany. And it became clear that the defendants' confrontation with this began early on: visits to memorial sites in childhood and the knowledge that "the country in which I was born committed this crime."

On the day of honor, Nele said:“Marshes like Day of Honor are not just costume parties for neo-Nazis, they build their self-confidence, give them a boost and further encourage them to put their ideology into practice.”

and Clara:“For me it was incomprehensible that Nazis and historical revisionists could gather, network and organize there to such an extent openly, unchallenged and with state support.”

After the statements, the presiding judge Bachler said: The decision was certainly not easy for the defendants and the Senate will take it into account.

As the trial continued, witnesses were heard about the attacks in Budapest. There will be another process report on this.

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