Gerd Honsik (10 October 1941 – 7 April 2018) was an Austrian writer and lyric poet, and a prominent neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier.Die nationale Internationale. In: Wolfgang Purtscheller (editor): Die Ordnung, die sie meinen. »Neue Rechte« in Österreich. Picus, Vienna, 1994, .
Life Honsik was born in Vienna, Austria. He was a functionary in the Austrian "Volksbewegung"Rechtsextreme Funktionäre, Aktivisten und Ideologen: H Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance. ("People's Movement"), also known as "Volksbewegung gegen Überfremdung" ("People's Movement against Over-Foreignization") and "Ausländer-Halt-Bewegung" ("No More Foreigners Movement"),Volksbewegung / auch: Volksbewegung gegen Überfremdung; Ausländer-Halt-Bewegung Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance. as well as in Austria's far-right NDP party. He was the founder of a militia group, the Nationale Front, which according to its manifesto carried out activities to effect "the abolition of the system".Straches Kontakte zur Wiking-Jugend Die Presse, 23 August 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2010. Strache: "Ich kenne Herrn Honsik nicht" ORF, 19 June 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
He also appeared under the pseudonym "Gerhon Endsik", . an anagram of the syllables of his name extended by two letters, intended to allude to the (politically charged) German term Endsieg ("final victory").
Honsik was fined and sentenced to jail in several Austrian court cases due to his activities as a Holocaust denier. He evaded his most recent sentence by fleeing the country,OLG bestätigt Urteil für Gerd Honsik ORF, 3 December 2007. and residing in Spain until 24 August 2007Spain arrests fugitive Austrian Holocaust denier - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews when he was arrested in MálagaHolocaust-Leugner Honsik erneut angeklagt ORF, 2 May 2008. after a recent change in Spanish legislation. On 4 October 2007,Spain extradites Austrian author for Holocaust denial | Jerusalem Post Honsik was extradited to Austria to serve out an 18-month prison sentence stemming from a 1992 conviction for Holocaust denial. Spain had previously refused requests to extradite Honsik because Holocaust denial and neo-Nazi propaganda were not illegal in that country. Honsik was only extradited after two European-wide arrest warrants were issued at Austria's request.
While in Spain Honsik contributed to the magazine Halt ("Stop") at irregular intervals. . The magazine publishes Holocaust-denying and anti-Semitic articles. Honsik also wrote a book, "Hitler Innocent?",Gerd Honsik: Freispruch für Hitler? Holocaust-Referenz: Argumente gegen Auschwitzleugner. in which he attempts to justify some Nazi-era crimes.
On 27 April 2009, Honsik was sentenced to five years in prison in Austria for propagating Holocaust denial,Fünf Jahre Haft für Gerd Honsik ORF, 27 April 2009. later reduced to four years.Milde für Honsik: Nur mehr vier Jahre Haft ORF, 1 March 2010. The prosecutor argued that Honsik is "one of the ideological leaders" of Europe's neo-Nazi movement and that his distribution of "hate magazines" at schools violated Austrian law. During the trial, Honsik called himself "a social democrat" and stated that he only "rejected the textbook wisdom that demonizes National Socialism" and he only denied the existence of the gas chambers used in concentration camps "wherever I had not verified the (facts) myself". At one point, Honsik began screaming and pounding his fists after the judge denied his requests to introduce evidence which the court had deemed irrelevant.Holocaust denier jailed in Austria, Reuters (reprinted by Canada.com), 27 April 2009.
On 8 September 2011, Honsik was paroled due to his old age. He died on 7 April 2018 at the age of 76 in Sopron, Hungary, where he had been living since 2017.
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