Scrapbookpages Blog

June 25, 2015

Watch what you write on Facebook, lest you go to prison for two years

Filed under: Holocaust — Tags: , , — furtherglory @ 9:06 am

I have just learned, from this news article, that a modern-day “Nazi” has been sentenced to TWO years in prison in France, although the law in France only allows for ONE year in prison for Holocaust denial.

The following quote is from the news article:

A criminal court in Normandy has sentenced French Nazi ideologue Vincent Reynouard to two years in jail for denying the Holocaust in Facebook postings.

Although Mark Zuckerberg officially allows Holocaust denial on Facebook, and Facebook even has a Holocaust page, the law in France does not allow Holocaust denial anywhere.

This quote is also from the news article:

Mr. Collet, who attended the trial, said Mr. Reynouard argued in court that his goal is the “rehabilitation of national socialism.” He has inundated YouTube with more than 120 videos. In one 44-minute video, Mr. Reynouard criticizes Mr. Collet’s commemorations for failing to take into account the French civilians who died in the Allied invasion. More controversially, Mr. Reynouard adds there is “no proof” that the gas chambers ever existed.

I am not a fan of Mr. Reynouard. I think that he has made many minor mistakes, and that he has not studied the Holocaust enough to be an expert. He is entitled to his opinion — but not in France. He should come to America, where he can say anything he wants, at least for now.

My photo of the inside of the church at Oradour-sur-Glane

My photo of the inside of the church at Oradour-sur-Glane

I disagree with Mr. Reynouard on the subject of Oradour-sur-Glane.

Many years ago, I wrote on my website about his conclusions regarding Oradour-sur-Glane, compared to my conclusions:  http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Oradour-sur-Glane/Story/VincentReynouard.html

In the article on my website, I was playing Devil’s Advocate. I agree with Reynouard, except for a few details that he got wrong.

This quote is also from the news article:

Mr. Reynouard was convicted in France in 2007 for Holocaust denial, or négationnisme, and went to prison in 2010 to serve a one-year sentence. His incarceration attracted some attention at the time. Hundreds signed a petition to press for his release and the repeal of the French law banning the denial of crimes against humanity.

[…]

Mr. Reynouard, a former mathematics teacher who was sacked by the French Education Ministry for his views in 1997, has also sparked controversy in Belgium. A court in Brussels sentenced him to a one-year jail term in 2008 for “denying the genocide committed by the German national-socialist regime.” The sentence was confirmed by a court of appeal in 2011.