New York, NY, August 24, 1995...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today praised a decision by the Supreme Court of Denmark paving the way for the trial in Germany of American neo-Nazi Gary Lauck, a major supplier of anti-Semitic propaganda. The Court's action upheld two lower court rulings ordering the extradition of Lauck to Germany, where he faces charges of incitement, encouraging racial hatred, distributing illegal propaganda and Nazi symbols, and belonging to a criminal group.

"We commend the Danish Government for its pursuit of Lauck's extradition and for defending its decision throughout the appeal process," said David H. Strassler, ADL National Chairman and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "We are confident that the German authorities will vigorously prosecute Lauck, whose inflammatory racist and anti-Jewish materials have been an essential component of the murderous German neo-Nazi movement.

"It is entirely appropriate that Lauck should be tried in a German court for his longstanding efforts to destroy German democracy and restore the nightmare of the Third Reich," the ADL leaders added.

ADL, which for years has monitored and exposed Lauck's neo-Nazi activities, had pressed the U.S. and German Governments to use applicable laws to prevent Lauck from disseminating his Nazi material. A Nebraska resident dubbed the "Farm-Belt Fuehrer" by ADL, Lauck was arrested in March by Danish authorities outside Copenhagen on a warrant from the Hamburg (Germany) prosecutor.

ADL also applauded the recent arrest in Germany of another American pro-Nazi activist and Holocaust denier, Hans Schmidt of Pensacola, FL. The German-born Schmidt, who was a member of the Hitler Youth and claimed to have served in the Waffen-SS during World War II, is being held in the northeastern German city of Schwerin, on charges of inciting racial hatred. His German-language publication, U.S.A. Bericht (U.S.A. Report), reportedly targets readers in Germany, where denial of the Holocaust is illegal. Schmidt also produces an English-language bulletin for an American audience.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.