More on the NSU scouting out a synagogue in Berlin, and another propaganda motion by the Wohlleben defense

As expected, the 17 November 2016 defense challenge against the court was also rejected as unfounded, allowing the court to continue the trial today. The only witness today was a police detective who had, back in May 2000, questioned a police officer guarding the synagogue in the Rykestraße in Berlin, That officer had reported that he had seen Beate Zschäpe and Uwe Mundlos sitting in a café directly next to the synagogue and studying city maps (on the testimony of that witness in court, see the report of 26 October 2016). Today’s witness, too, did not remember all details, but confirmed the most important parts, above all that the guard had provided a coherent and believable report on what he had seen at the synagogue and had been very certain in his identification of Zschäpe and Böhnhardt.

The court has called the guard himself to continue his testimony next week, showing that it has further questions to ask him – it seems that the court is very interested in the evidence that Zschäpe was involved in the scouting out of potential targets for NSU attacks.

The court continued rejecting motions for evidence brought by victims‘ counsel, this time including a motion concerning shady secret service officer Temme. We have said all that is to be said about the court’s refusal to consider any of the motions brought by victims’ counsel (see, e.g., the report of 2 June 2016).

The Wohlleben defense provided a new high point – or rather a new low point: A few weeks ago, it had brought a motion for evidence aiming to prove the Nazi myth that Hitler deputy Hess had been called by his jailers in the Allied prison in Berlin-Spandau (see the report of 13 October 2016). Today, they topped this by also moving that historian Olaf Rose, member of the presidency of Nazi party NPD, be called as an expert witness. The motion proposes to prove details concerning Hess’ “peace flight” to England in 1941 as well as details concerning his conviction by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. The Wohlleben defense thus once again shifts the focus of its activities towards Nazi propaganda in the courtroom.

The trial day tomorrow has been cancelled, the trial will continue Tuesday, 29 November.

One witness per trial day

The most interesting question today was whether the trial would in fact take place as there had not been a decision on the defense challenges of 16 and 17 November. The decision rejecting the first of these challenges was issued just in time this morning, allowing the court to continue the trial today. A decision on the other challenge will probably be issued by tomorrow morning.

The court then heard another witness concerning the attack at the tram stop in Jena. Today’s witness was the owner of a nearby business selling building supplies. He stated that his company had also sold little wooden huts for playgrounds, which his suppliers had provided to him pre-assembled. He was unable to say whether such huts had been placed on his lot near the tram stop, which had not been fenced-in. Of course, given the detailed and believable statement of the attack’s victim (see the report of 8 November 2016), none of these details matter anyway.

The court then read out several documents concerning files on the computers and hard disks found in accused Wohlleben’s apartment. Inter alia, these contained several audio files of the most disgusting type of Nazi music.

After this rather modest amount of evidence, the presiding judge ended the trial at 12.20 noon.