Neo-Nazi Holocaust Denier Joins EU Parliament Civil Rights Committee

Udo Voigt, Mitglied der Nationaldemokratischen Partei Deutschlands (NPD), steht am 26.02.2014 in Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg) im Verhandlungssaal des Bundesverfassungsgerichts. Das Gericht entschied heute darüber,... Udo Voigt, Mitglied der Nationaldemokratischen Partei Deutschlands (NPD), steht am 26.02.2014 in Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg) im Verhandlungssaal des Bundesverfassungsgerichts. Das Gericht entschied heute darüber, ob die Drei-Prozent-Hürde bei der Europawahl mit dem Grundgesetz vereinbar ist. Photo by: Uwe Anspach/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images MORE LESS
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A neo-Nazi from Germany’s ultra-conservative National Democratic Party joined the European Union’s parliament in May and on Monday took a seat on the body’s Civil Rights Committee, according to Jewish World News.

Udo Voigt has praised Adolf Hitler as “a great German statesman” and once claimed that “no more than 340,000” Jews died in the Holocaust, as opposed to the 6 million figure agreed on by historians, according to the Guardian.

Voigt led the NDP from 1996 to 2011, and during that time he led the party in an increasingly nationalist direction. In 2009, he was convicted of glorifying the Waffen SS. The German court unsuccessfully attempted to outlaw the party in 2006, and another attempt is currently underway.

Voigt in 2007 considered nominating Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, for a Nobel Peace Prize. The Guardian has an extensive account of his incredibly controversial actions and statements here.

Following outrage over Voigt’s assignment to the Civil Rights Committee, EU President Martin Schulz denounced Voigt’s beliefs.

“Everyone who denies the Holocaust and who is against human dignity, democracy and plurality will encounter the strongest resistance from me,” Schulz said, according to Jewish World News. “The European Parliament is the place where the representatives of the European people work hard to ensure a good and peaceful future for us on our continent. There is no place for racists and anti-Semites in this house.”

A spokesman for the European Jewish Congress called for members of the EU parliament to keep Voigt from gaining publicity for his views.

“It does the European Parliament no credit to have people sitting on its civil liberties committee who have obviously not only shown no commitment to civil liberties, but have sought to undermine them and to purvey a racist and intolerant agenda throughout their political career,” a spokesman told EurActiv.

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  1. Obviously rwnj’s aren’t a purely us problem and never has been exclusive. But that’s fairly amazing…the civil rights comission? Really? wow…go Europe.

  2. I thought that Germany had strict Holocaust-denial and Anti-Nazi-sentiment laws on the books?

    (not that I endorse those laws, because I believe even offensive speech should be protected – because of Freedom, and because it’s a good way to identify the idiots for close monitoring)

  3. Avatar for meri meri says:

    As soon as this guy has as much control over their policy as our RWNJs do I’ll be a bit more concerned.

  4. Even the account in the Guardian says the “plan to nominate Hess for a Nobel Peace Prize” came out in an account in 2007. Hess died in 1987, and you have to be alive to receive a Nobel Prize.

    How far back was this? Did Voigt even have the pull needed to add a name to a nominating committee in or before '87?

    Just checking in. He doesn’t seem like someone who would require gilding the lily to prove he’s crazy. I also didn’t expect this article to pass around hearsay (unverified / no details even in the linked Guardian article). Shrinking Jewish deaths in the holocaust to ~5% of the actual total is sufficient in itself.

  5. So how does a Holocaust denier get elected or chosen to be on the EU Parliament Civil Rights Committee in the first place?

    This says as much about the EU Parliament for Civil Rights as it does this fucking Nazi and lover of all things to do with the Third Reich.
    Obviously someone finds it OK to allow this asshole to join, and condones this man’s words and behavior or he wouldn’t have been chosen to hold the seat.

    The EU Parliament Civil Rights Committee sounds like a sham propagandist operation. It clearly has no credibility.

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