Tuesday, January 15, 2008

News

The Nazi occupation of Holland resulted in many graves. Personal affects from the victims have recently been discovered: Deutsche Welle:

    "So many died. And now, 63 years later, I'm here holding my father's identity card in my hand," Evers told DPA news agency.

    The items include an old pocket watch with cracked, yellow glass and its case, a scratched-up lock and key and a photograph with writing on the back that is hard to discern.

    The Nazis had kept all the items packed in boxes, which were then confiscated by the Allies at the end of the war.

Art stolen by the Nazis is in the news again. Bloomberg:

    Last month a U.S. court ruled that the Nazis forced German dealer Max Stern to sell his inventory of art. Officials at Concordia University in Montreal, one of the beneficiaries of Stern's will, believe the ruling will help them recover artworks owned by more than 20 museums or individuals.

Denying the Holocaust earns jail time in Germany. Deutsche Welle:

    Stolz made the remarks in 2006 while representing "historian" Ernst Zündel, who was handed a five-year prison term in Germany last February for repeatedly disputing the Holocaust as a historical fact.

    The 44-year-old also signed a motion during Zündel's trial with "Heil Hitler" and shouted that the lay judges deserved the death penalty for "offering succour to the enemy" -- leading the court to dismiss her.

Upping the ante on Nazi war criminals. Spiegel:

    The Simon Wiesenthal Center has more than doubled its reward for information leading to the capture of Nazi war criminals from $10,000 to $25,000 under its "Operation Last Chance" campaign to bring the perpetrators to justice before they die of old age.

A Canadian court overturned the conviction of a "North American Indian leader". AFP:

    A Saskatchewan court in western Canada upheld Monday a lower court ruling quashing the conviction of a North American Indian leader for hate crimes against Jews.

    David Ahenakew, now 74, was convicted in 2005 of willfully promoting hatred for endorsing Adolf Hitler and telling a reporter in December 2002 that Jews bent on global domination were responsible for World War II.

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