The second day of hearings in Neubrandenburg will doubtless be of great entertainment value: a court that is always meticulously seeking to establish the defendant’s state of health, an intrepid defence lawyer who looks like he fancies himself in Hollywood soon, and a general environment that – as a Mexican journalist told me after the first day in court – is reminiscent of trials in distant lands, where it’s clear to everyone from the very start that this case too will be buried beneath a mountain of aging yellowed documents.

The impression the judge gave is clear: Ladies and gentlemen, save your time and energy coming here. We shall clarify the matter on our own. We know what we’re doing. We don’t need a bunch of smart alecks from the world media here. And we need all of these joint plaintiffs even less - Mayr, Müller, Walther, Schulze, or whatever they’re called, nobody can remember their names anyway.

OK - Auschwitz, it was bad, that stuff.

Anne Frank – OK, she was there as well, at the same time as the defendant, important, important, definitely touching. But, look at it this way, ladies and gentlemen: There’s this new film out now about Anne Frank. So, go to the cinema instead. There’s nothing happening around here anyway. Just do it. It’s simple when you know how!

Christoph Heubner,
Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee