Neighbors of the Polenzstraße apartment: Zschäpe’s camouflage worked perfectly.

The first two witnesses today were neighbors of the NSU apartment in the Polenzstraße in Zwickau. The first witness had lived there from 2006 to 2008, Zschäpe, Mundlos and Böhnhardt moved out before her. Her testimony showed once again that Zschäpe’s camouflage worked perfectly. The witness, a single mother at the time, had apparently be on the lookout for a friend in Zschäpe, who could not and did not want to give her a deeper glimpse into her live and her apartment and told her that “her boyfriend” was opposed. Given the charges against her former neighbor, the witness tried to present her as innocent victim of her boyfriend (Uwe Mundlos), interpreting what she thought were glances, gestures and asides of the woman known to her as Lisa Dienelt: Lisa had not given her her phone number because her boyfriend did not want to be disturbed, Lisa had hinted that she had had sex with both her boyfriend and his brother (Uwe Böhnhardt) although she did not really want to. All these conclusions were not based on any real facts, however, and upon being questioned by the presiding judge turned out to be nothing more than vague suppositions.

What the witness had actually witnessed was that Zschäpe had told her that one man (Uwe Mundlos) was her boyfriend and that he had very often been away, often accompanied by his brother (Uwe Böhnhardt). He had mostly driven a station wagon, sometimes a mobile home. The three had gone on holiday together, about one weekend per month. Other than that, she had seldom seen the men – not surprising given that she had lived on the top floor, “the Three” on the ground floor.

The second witness had lived in the house from 2006 to 2009 and also had occasional contact with Zschäpe. She, too, could only confirm that Mundlos and Böhnhardt were often away and that she had often seen a mobile home in front of the house, used mostly be the two men.

The third witness was a men who used to run in the same circles as the “Skinheads 88” and “Blood & Honour” Chemnitz and who in 1997 had a relationship with NSU-supporter Mandy Struck. The witness had a severe work injury ten years ago, had inter alia suffered brain hemorrhages, he had visible problems trying to remember details from back then. Nonetheless, he did provide more detailed testimony than almost all (former) Nazi witnesses before him. Above all, he confirmed that there had been regular contact between Nazis from Chemnitz and Jena. He had met Mundlos and Böhnhardt via Thomas Starke, later of “B&H”. Common pal Friedel had lived in Heilbronn and had contacts to the Nazi scene there. This potential clue concerning the murder and attempted murder of police officers Kiesewetter and Arnold is prominent in the case file, but so far neither prosecution nor court seem much inclined to follow it up.