Protest Erupts in Germany Calling for Release of 'Nazi Grandma'

An 89-year-old woman, dubbed the “Nazi Grandma,” was arrested on Monday and taken to prison to serve her two-year sentence for holocaust denying. Specifically, she suggested that the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp was a “work camp” and was not used for systematic extermination.

Hundreds of protesters, primarily from the Die Rechte party, rallied in the city of Bielefeld, west Germany, on Thursday, calling for the release of Ursula Haverbeck, according to Deutsche Welle.

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A counter-protest, consisting of around 600 campaigners, was also held. Two police officers suffered minor injuries after clashing with the leftwing counter-protesters.

Last October, Haverbeck was convicted for eight counts of incitement and launched a failed appeal bid. She didn’t turn up to prison by her designated deadline (April 23) to begin serving her sentence, prompting police to arrest her at home and transport her to prison on May 7.   

The “Nazi Grandma” has been convicted of similar offenses, incurring fines for her comments, but this is the first time she has been imprisoned.

Haverback said, in a trial in 2015, that the Auschwitz facility is “not historically proven” to an extermination camp, claiming “this is only a belief.”

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