Commenting in Berlin on the verdict in the trial for the murder of the District President of Kassel, Dr Walter Lübcke, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Christoph Heubner, stated:
"Auschwitz survivors throughout the world have been following the trial for the murder of Walter Lübcke with keen attention, deepest empathy and great respect for the Mr Lübcke’s family. The murder of Walter Lübcke was, and remains, a dramatic alarm signal for all democratic societies to recognize and combat the long-existing organizational structures of right-wing extremist, anti-Semitic and Nazi groups and their drastic increase in propensity to violence, including murder.
It has become clear during the trail that this murder can only be understood against the background of a decades-old Nazi network in Kassel and North Hesse, and that the authorities have shamefully underestimated and neglected this network for many years. The maximum sentence for the accused Stephan E. is very important in this particular context, and it sends the right message.
However, the fact that Markus H. was able to walk away from this trial in triumph with a suspended sentence and return to his Nazi comfort zone, is a fatal and bitter signal, that all Neo-Nazis in Europe will welcome with contempt."