Antisemitic sign: shopkeeper in Flensburg sentenced to suspended prison term
A 60-year-old man has been convicted of incitement to hatred in Schleswig-Holstein after placing a discriminatory poster in his shop window.
Antisemitic sign: shopkeeper in Flensburg sentenced to suspended prison term
A district court in the Schleswig-Holstein border town has sentenced a shop owner for incitement against Jewish people. The 60-year-old received six months imprisonment suspended and a fine of 1,200 euros in favour of a former concentration camp memorial.
The incident dates to 17 September 2025. On that day, a handwritten poster was displayed in the defendant's shop on Duburger Straße. It stated that Jewish people were not welcome in the shop. A smaller text below claimed that this was not antisemitic sentiment but rather personal dislike. The shop window remained visible to the public for around four hours, including to passers-by and customers.
The prosecution accused the man of degrading an entire religious group and inciting hatred through this notice. Such statements should not be regarded as free speech, but rather as a deliberate attack on human dignity.
During the oral proceedings, the defendant himself did not testify. His legal representative conducted the defence. He admitted that the sign had indeed hung in the window for several hours. However, he denied that his client intended to offend the Jewish community. The defence cited a psychological condition linked to a lack of self-control as a mitigating circumstance.
The presiding judge rejected this. She emphasised that the defendant had created the text on a computer, printed it out and placed it deliberately in plain view. The "house ban" recalled the boycott calls from the Nazi era. This was not a spontaneous act but rather a planned expression of a fixed conviction.
The convicted man had already spoken to the media before the court hearing and reaffirmed his position. He had felt no remorse and stood by his views. His specialist shop for alternative clothing and technical books has since permanently closed.
The leader of the local Jewish community commented positively on the verdict. The decision made clear what boundaries apply in a democratic society. The defendant's personal stubbornness bothered him less, as his true attitude was already publicly known. The decision can still be appealed.
Source: BILD
Source: BILD