Gerd Honsik
Encyclopedia
Gerd Honsik is an Austria
n writer and lyric poet, and a prominent Holocaust denier
.
" ("People's Movement against Foreign Infiltration") and "Ausländer-Halt-Bewegung" ("No More Foreigners Movement"), as well as in Austria's far-right NDP
party. He was the founder of a militia
group, the Nationale Front, which according to its manifesto carried out activities to effect "the abolition of the system".
He has also appeared under the pseudonym "Gerhon Endsik", an anagram of the syllables of his name extended by two letters, intended to allude to the (politically charged) German term Endsieg
("final victory").
Honsik has been fined and sentenced to jail in several Austrian court cases due to his activities as a Holocaust denier. He evaded his most recent sentence by fleeing the country, and residing in Spain
until 24 August 2007 when he was arrested in Málaga after a recent change in Spanish legislation. On the 4th of October 2007 Honsik was extradited to Austria to serve out an 18-month prison sentence stemming from a 1992 conviction for Holocaust denial. Spain had previously refused requests to extradite Honsik because Holocaust denial and neo-Nazi propaganda were not illegal in that country. Honsik was only extradited after two European-wide arrest warrants were issued at Austria's request.
While in Spain Honsik contributed to the magazine Halt ("Stop") at irregular intervals. The magazine publishes Holocaust-denying and anti-Semitic articles. Honsik also wrote a book, "Hitler Innocent?", in which he attempts to justify some Nazi-era crimes.
On 27 April 2009, Honsik was sentenced to five years in prison in Austria
for propagating Holocaust denial, later reduced to four years. The prosecutor argued that Honsik is "one of the ideological leaders" of Europe's neo-Nazi movement and that his distribution of "hate magazines" at schools violated Austrian law. During the trial, Honsik called himself "a social democrat" and stated that he only "rejected the textbook wisdom that demonizes National Socialism" and he only denied the existence of the gas chambers used in concentration camps "wherever I had not verified the (facts) myself". At one point, Honsik began screaming and pounding his fists after the judge denied his requests to introduce evidence which the court had deemed irrelevant.
Honsik denied the charges and said he would appeal the verdict; the prosecutor stated that he also would appeal to seek a longer jail-term of up to 20 years.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n writer and lyric poet, and a prominent Holocaust denier
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
.
Life
Honsik was a functionary in the Austrian "Volksbewegung" ("People's Movement"), also known as "Volksbewegung gegen ÜberfremdungÜberfremdung
Überfremdung , literally "over-foreignization", is a German-language term used in politics to suggest an excess of immigration. The word is compounded from über meaning "over" or "overly" and fremd meaning "foreign".-Political uses:...
" ("People's Movement against Foreign Infiltration") and "Ausländer-Halt-Bewegung" ("No More Foreigners Movement"), as well as in Austria's far-right NDP
Nationaldemokratische Partei (Austria, 1967–1988)
The National Democratic Party was a far-right political party in Austria from 1967 until 1988 when its status was revoked for violating the country's anti-Nazi legislation.- Party History :...
party. He was the founder of a militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
group, the Nationale Front, which according to its manifesto carried out activities to effect "the abolition of the system".
He has also appeared under the pseudonym "Gerhon Endsik", an anagram of the syllables of his name extended by two letters, intended to allude to the (politically charged) German term Endsieg
Endsieg
Endsieg is German for "final victory". It is used in the meaning that a victory is taken for granted even though all odds are against it.- Origin and historical usage :The word became commonly used in World War I...
("final victory").
Honsik has been fined and sentenced to jail in several Austrian court cases due to his activities as a Holocaust denier. He evaded his most recent sentence by fleeing the country, and residing in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
until 24 August 2007 when he was arrested in Málaga after a recent change in Spanish legislation. On the 4th of October 2007 Honsik was extradited to Austria to serve out an 18-month prison sentence stemming from a 1992 conviction for Holocaust denial. Spain had previously refused requests to extradite Honsik because Holocaust denial and neo-Nazi propaganda were not illegal in that country. Honsik was only extradited after two European-wide arrest warrants were issued at Austria's request.
While in Spain Honsik contributed to the magazine Halt ("Stop") at irregular intervals. The magazine publishes Holocaust-denying and anti-Semitic articles. Honsik also wrote a book, "Hitler Innocent?", in which he attempts to justify some Nazi-era crimes.
On 27 April 2009, Honsik was sentenced to five years in prison in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
for propagating Holocaust denial, later reduced to four years. The prosecutor argued that Honsik is "one of the ideological leaders" of Europe's neo-Nazi movement and that his distribution of "hate magazines" at schools violated Austrian law. During the trial, Honsik called himself "a social democrat" and stated that he only "rejected the textbook wisdom that demonizes National Socialism" and he only denied the existence of the gas chambers used in concentration camps "wherever I had not verified the (facts) myself". At one point, Honsik began screaming and pounding his fists after the judge denied his requests to introduce evidence which the court had deemed irrelevant.
Honsik denied the charges and said he would appeal the verdict; the prosecutor stated that he also would appeal to seek a longer jail-term of up to 20 years.