Nazi trial in Wels

“My great-grandfather killed 170 people during the Nazi era”

These three young defendants will have to answer to the Wels Regional Court on Wednesday.

(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at/laumat)

Three young defendants had to answer to lay assessors in Wels on Wednesday for singing the song "L'amour toujours" with xenophobic lyrics, making Hitler salutes and shouting "Heil Hitler" and "Sieg Heil". The 16-year-old was acquitted, the 19-year-old was given a diversion. Only the 25-year-old was sentenced to an additional custodial sentence.

Bad Ischl on July 3, 2024 shortly before four o'clock in the morning in front of a well-known nightclub. Two young men are standing together, not far from them a teenager. Suddenly, a familiar song plays: "L'amour toujours" by Italian musician Gigi D'Agostino. However, the lyrics and the behavior of the small group of singers are not familiar, but highly alienating.

Right-wing extremist slogans
"Foreigners out", "Heil Hitler" and "Sieg Heil" were definitely shouted loudly by two young men, perhaps also by a 16-year-old girl, and they jumped around in a circle like at a soccer party and gave the Hitler salute. 

Young women showed courage
Two courageous witnesses, young women, finally approached and confronted the group. The "singers" played it down: "It's just for fun!" The young woman said: "When we're drunk, our far-right side comes out!" 

Video more than just highly embarrassing
There is a video of the ensuing conversation. Excerpts of it were also shown during the trial - the three accused lowered their bright red heads in shame and held their hands to their faces. The 16-year-old and the 19-year-old calm down. The eldest member of the group (25), who was born in Argentina, on the other hand, was full of praise: His great-grandfather had killed 170 people during the Second World War. He emphasized several times that his six-year-old sister had been raped by two Syrians or Afghans, which would have had no consequences for the perpetrators.

Shame without end
The video, in which the 25-year-old repeatedly talks about the "rape" and what he would do to the two "criminals", goes on for far too long and also makes countless deeply disgusting statements about foreigners, National Socialism and the rape of children. While the two young women show understanding for the invented crime and speak out in favor of solidarity and togetherness, the noticeably drunk 25-year-old continues to talk his head off in the video and literally sinks into the floor of the courtroom. The general shaking of heads, disturbed looks and shaking of heads from the jury and the audience hardly stop.

It was all made up
"It was all complete nonsense, I made it up because I thought they'd leave us alone! I don't even have a sister," says the 25-year-old Argentinian-born Austrian. His great-grandfather was also in the Second World War, but "he was a doctor and a very nice person and certainly not an SS Nazi!" Nevertheless, he confessed to the accusations, saying he did not know what had gotten into him. The Nazi era had been one of the worst ever and should not be repeated under any circumstances.

Turkish fans were provocative
The second defendant (19) made a similar claim: "We had gone out after an international soccer match and had drunk far too much." Beforehand, they had talked to Turkish fans who had provoked them. "I certainly plead guilty. It was the absolute shittiest thing I could have said and done. I find nothing at all wrong with National Socialism, it was terrible in every respect!"

Only 16-year-old denied accusations
The 16-year-old first defendant was the only one to plead not guilty. She had gone out with friends after her work as an apprentice waitress, had only met her friends shortly before and had distanced herself from the young men during the incidents. However, the two witnesses stated that she had indeed been in the group jumping and giving the Hitler salute. They could not confirm whether she herself had raised her arm accordingly.

Judgments made quickly
In the end, the verdicts were handed down: the 16-year-old was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, the 19-year-old received a diversionary settlement. However, the two must complete a memorial educational tour of the Mauthausen concentration camp and report back to the court within six months. Only the 25-year-old was convicted: He received a four-month conditional additional prison sentence - he had already been convicted of drug possession in the summer. All sentences are final.