One would imagine that at the age of 87 years of age, ANY person would be entitled to voice an opinion without having to face the prospect of committal to a prison cell and, with this in mind, I would cite the case of 'Ursula Haverbeck' a.k.a. 'Nazi-Oma' (Gott segne ihre seele).
This elderly Lady (whom I recently met) received a 10 month sentence in a Hamburg court for 'Holocaust Denial' and is quoted as insisting that the death camp at 'Auschwitz' deserves to be tagged as "The biggest, most sustainable LIE in history" and flatly refused to withdraw Her comments even though She knew what the outcome of such a refusal would be.
NOW, without getting into a 'Tizzy' about whether or not there may or may not be any truth in Her insistence, I think She is entitled to some respect for the 'Courage of Her Convictions', since a vast number of those of Her age are more prone to 'Alzheimer's' than they are to such an admirable degree of 'Tenacity'.
I spoke at length to Her and during the course of our conversation, She handed me a note (which was written in German) and asked me to forward it to the 'Board of Directors' of the 'Heinz Food Manufacturers' which I am now in the process of doing BUT, before I do, I would like to share with you ALL, some part of the conversation which encouraged the 'Dear Old Lady' to hand me the note.
Like MOST of us (I'm sure) She is absolutely fed up to the back teeth (pardon the cliche) with our almost 'Daily Dose' of references to the awful events which took place more than 70 years ago and, whether it be on 'Television' or reported in 'Newspapers', it is the same old story day after day after day and, quite frankly, I too am quite sick of being reminded of the horrors of 'The Holocaust', particularly since similar horrors (though not quite SO well advertised) are now being committed on a daily basis YET, nothing is being reported on it although we are all aware that there is mass slaughter and persecution rife in so many areas of this troubled world.
Strangely enough, these latter horrors are (in some cases) being perpetrated by the very survivors (or descendants of) those who suffered the consequences of their imprisonment and torture in those days when the world was embroiled in WW2.
Gone for a 'Cuppa', back soon.