A German teacher at the Spa and Malmedy High Schools (Athénées), who was sentenced to a month in prison and a 7-euro fine for Holocaust denial on December 7th, 2015, has appealed, revealed a police source. The case is being monitored by the public prosecutor in Liège.
An Ethics teacher filed a complaint against one of his colleagues, a teacher of German to Years 12 and 13 pupils, who according to one of his students was denying the Jewish genocide during WW2 and also showed his support for Nazi theories, in May 2013.
The investigation was based on interviews with students and revealed that the teacher had said that concentration camps were an Allied invention to sully Germany. He denied the Holocaust had taken place and said Jews were responsible for starting the Second World War.
When questioned, the teacher denied all accusations and said he was trying to challenge his pupils’ reasoning and judgment. He also maintained he had never spoken about the genocide in class.
Following the Ethics teacher’s complaint, the German teacher was suspended immediately, and then excluded from the French community teaching staff. The French community later filed a joint complaint against him with the Centre for Equal Opportunities. The Appeals Court in Liège is soon to re-examine the case.
(Source: Belga)
