Accusation of Nazi Re-Engagement: Viennese Antiquarian Acquitted

The decision of the eight jurors was unanimous. The prosecutor's request for the confiscation of the 30 incriminated books, classified by the prosecution as Nazi propaganda material, was rejected.

The acquittal is not yet legally binding. The prosecutor initially made no statement.

Schaden had offered works from the Nazi era through his webshop, which came from the estate of the historian Brigitte Hamann. According to the Vienna public prosecutor's office, this violated the Prohibition Act, which Schaden vehemently denied during the trial.

Prosecutor: "He is not a Nazi"

The 78-year-old was not accused of having a right-wing extremist attitude by the prosecution. "He is not a Nazi. He is not a right-wing extremist. He is a recognized bookseller and antiquarian," emphasized the prosecutor at the beginning of the trial. However, the law enforcement authorities are "obliged to ensure that Nazi propaganda material does not reach people who use it for re-engagement."

From the prosecutor's point of view, Schaden should have offered the propaganda material with a closer explanation or appropriate preparation and not publicly without comment. "There was no indication that it was Nazi propaganda material," said the prosecutor. The defendant had simply offered the incriminated material online with photos of the book covers, without ensuring that it did not fall into the wrong hands.

Specifically, the prosecution accused Schaden of having engaged in National Socialist activities at least from October 10, 2024, to January 22, 2025, by publicly offering books glorifying National Socialism for sale in his webshop under the category "Third Reich" in a way that was perceptible to more than 30 people. The indictment emphasized that Schaden not only offered Nazi propaganda bound in books but committed the act "in a way that made it accessible to many people." The 30 works included in the indictment have titles like "The End of Austria," "How the Ostmark Experienced Its Liberation," or "German Science and the Jewish Question."

Defense: "Offense not fulfilled"

The defense attorneys Michael Pilz and Lukas Kollmann initially contradicted the accusation. "The objective offense is not fulfilled," emphasized Pilz. Furthermore, the defendant could not be proven to have had intent towards re-engagement. Schaden is "one of the most renowned booksellers," he included the works in question in his distribution system "to further enable scientific research and examination of the Nazi era." Schaden's clientele included university institutions, historians, doctoral candidates, and media professionals.

Schaden had acquired a total of 14,000 books from the estate of the historian Brigitte Hamann, who passed away in 2016 and became widely known with her work "Hitler's Vienna." For her research purposes, Hamann had incorporated a wealth of books from the Nazi era into her library. Of these, 60 ended up with Schaden after Hamann's death and subsequently in his webshop. The law enforcement authorities became aware of this when an Upper Austrian police officer discovered the title "How the Ostmark Experienced Its Liberation," considered questionable, in the webshop during an investigation. The Wels public prosecutor's office initiated investigative steps against Schaden, and the Vienna prosecution took over the further proceedings.

National Socialist ideology is "absolutely foreign" to him, assured Rainer Schaden in his defendant's examination: "I have nothing to do with it at all." His defenders described him as a "militant anti-fascist" and "left-liberal."

Defendant Explained Verification Process

In detail, Schaden explained that contrary to the prosecution's assumption, he had indeed thoroughly checked potential buyers. He did not sell to right-wing individuals or people who seemed "suspicious" to him. If he could not categorize the interested parties, he would claim the works they desired were "already sold" or "not available."

In his verification process, he consulted "detailed name lists" in relevant search engines or sought advice - for example, from the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW). "If a person is on such a list, the sale is excluded. If we cannot categorize someone at all, we cancel the order," assured Schaden.

Schaden and his legal representatives emphasized that the incriminated works, for which he ended up before a jury court, were publicly accessible. "Without exception, all books can be borrowed from public libraries in Austria," said Pilz. They are available at the main library of the University of Vienna, the parliamentary library, the Jewish Museum, and also at the library of the Supreme Court (OGH). "Many of the books are in contemporary history or at the main library, where you can borrow them and make scans," Schaden agreed. And further: "You can also obtain NS literature at any time via Amazon."

Consciously Omitted "Warning Notices"

When asked why he did not include "warning notices" in the online shop and did not indicate the NS reference of the incriminated writings, Schaden replied: "We don't do that. But neither do other antiquarian bookshops." This would attract right-wing extremists.

"I myself feel like a left-liberal man," Schaden concluded. National Socialism and corresponding ideology is something "that I reject from the bottom of my heart."

In his closing argument, defense attorney Lukas Kollmann stated that his client had contributed "absolutely nothing" to the promotion of National Socialist propaganda. The subjective element of the offense was also not fulfilled: "Today he explained very precisely how he controlled who gets the books. What else should he do? He has no access to the LVT (State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism, note)." In cases of doubt, Schaden always canceled orders.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.