More „Blood and Honour“ Chemnitz – more lies and trivialization.

Today saw the further testimony of Thomas Rothe from Chemnitz, who had provided shelter to Zschäpe, Mundlos and Böhnhardt right after they had gone underground. Rothe tried again (see already the reports of 1 April 2014 and 29 July 2014) to ward off all questions with a simple “can’t recall”, and again, he was largely successful, at least in his questioning by presiding judge Götzl.

The Zschäpe defence, apparently in reaction to the discontent of their client, showed more activities and also referred to Zschäpe’s own knowledge. Counsel Sturm told the witness that according to her knowledge, Mundlos had lived with Rothe during a period of several weeks. However Rothe, not interested in helping elucidate the facts, also denied this.

What Rothe did state in answer to a question by the Zschäpe defence was that he had not only provided shelter to “the Three” in Chemnitz, but that he had also visited them several times in their later apartments in Chemnitz and in Zwickau. He had met several times with Mundlos alone, had been friends with him. Mundlos had also helped him several times with computer problems – most likely concerning his own Nazi zine “Sachsens Glanz” (roughly: “The Radiance of Saxony”) or the “B&H-“zine „White Youth”.

Once again it was up to victims’ counsel to tease out the extent to which the witness was embedded in the militant Nazi scene. Rothe was an “aspirant” to full membership in “Blood & Honour”, knew all the important people, was involved not only in organizing concerts, but also in producing zines. His own zine “Sachsens Glanz” led to him being sent many other publications and records. The reviews of records and zines contained in “Sachsens Glanz” bring together the worst in aggressive, violent Neonazi propaganda of the 1990s.

At least one of Rothe’s answers was an obvious lie: he stated that it was only in a TV show “criminal police live” that he had heard of the earlier crimes of “the Three”, including the hanging of a dummy with a Star of David from a highway bridge. However, in that TV show, which has already been shown in the courtroom, this incident is not mentioned at all.

The testimony of a police officer who had questioned Enrico Theile did not bring to the fore anything new.

At the end of the trial day, victims’ counsel made a statement on the testimony of Tino Brandt, stressing the importance of his statement concerning the “Community of Conviction for the New Front” (Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front, GdnF) (see the report of 30 September/1 October 2014).

The prosecution commented on several motions by victims’ counsel for certain evidence to be heard, stating its consent to several witnesses being summoned. This concerns above all GdnF cadre Kai Dalek, who for many years was also an informer for the Bavarian domestic secret service.