Three neo-Nazi activists received suspended sentences from a Hamburg court for a violent attack on left-wing demonstrators protesting their anti-Semitic activities. The sentences ranged from six months to four years imprisonment. Two other defendants were fined 1800 Marks each. All had been charged with breach of the peace.
The four year suspended sentence was imposed on Michael Kuehnen, the self-proclaimed “fuehrer” of the group. He is a farmer West German army officer who has been leading rightwing organizations that maintain close contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
In another development, a West Berlin federal court is continuing open hearings on the complaint by Karl-Heinz Hoffmann against the government’s ban on the so-called “Wehrsportsgruppe Hoffmann”, a neo-Nazi para-military organization that he heads. The group, which masqueraded as a sports club, was outlawed last January on grounds that its activities were in violation of the constitution.
One of its members was named by police recently as the person responsible for the total Oktoberfest bombing in Munich. It was disclosed at that time the members of the Hoffman group attended a military training program of PLO installations in Lebanon. Hoffman himself visited Beirut and Damascus, Syrian several times in recent months.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
