Judgments - Court: Hitler salute is punishable - even with the left arm
Anyone displaying the Hitler salute with their left arm is subject to punishment. The Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Hamm made this clear with a recent ruling, upholding the conviction of a 51-year-old man from Bremen. According to the statement, this man displayed the unconstitutional gesture towards demonstrators from the left spectrum at the edge of a G7 meeting in Münster in 2022 - but in his own words, he used his left arm intentionally for provocative reasons, as he did not believe it was forbidden.
Both the District Court and the Regional Court of Münster had found him guilty of using symbols of unconstitutional organizations. The not yet sentenced and essentially law-abiding man was sentenced by the Land Court judgment to pay a fine of a total of 600 Euros. Against this, he filed a revision, which the OLG Hamm dismissed in its decision of June 25 as unfounded, as it now announced.
Judge: Nazi salute is not a means of political dispute
The Federal Constitutional Court and other higher courts had already determined that it makes no difference which arm the Nazi salute is performed with: It represents a banned Nazi salute. Such symbols should be fundamentally expelled from the image of political life, the court explained. They are not a means of political dispute. Therefore, the defendant cannot rely on the fact that he intentionally only used his left arm to provoke left-wing opponents.
- The man from Bremen, despite his intentional use of a Hitler salute with his left arm to provoke left-wing opponents during the G7 meeting in Münster in 2022, was found guilty by both the District Court and the Regional Court of Münster for using symbols of unconstitutional organizations.
- The Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Hamm upheld this conviction in its recent ruling, dismissing the man's revision as unfounded, as announced on June 25.
- The court in Hamm agreed with previous rulings from the Federal Constitutional Court and other higher courts, stating that the Nazi salute, regardless of which arm is used, represents a banned symbol and should be fundamentally excluded from political life.
- This judgment serves as a clear reminder that extremist gestures such as the Hitler salute are not considered valid means of political dispute and will result in penalties for those who display them.
