A Munich court decided this week that right-wing extremist Franz Schoenhuber indeed earned an Iron Cross Second Class for wartime service in a Waffen SS unit, and warned a local journalist he could go to jail if he persisted in questioning the claim.
Schoenhuber heads the right-wing Republican Party, which created a political stir by unexpectedly winning seats in the West Berlin municipal legislature Jan. 29.
He published a book last year titled “I Was At It,” in which he described his service with the SS in heroic terms.
Journalist Karlheinz Lange cast doubt on the claimed Iron Cross and Schoenhuber sued.
The court warned Lange that he would face a $25,000 fine or a month in jail if he repeated his allegations.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
