German court rules display of Nazi slogans permissible if they’re not in German

German court rules on display of Nazi symbols

BERLIN — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that people can be prosecuted for displaying Nazi slogans in Germany only if they are in the German language.

The Federal Court of Justice overturned a lower court’s ruling convicting a neo-Nazi of transporting a shipment of 100 T-shirts with the slogan, “Blood and Honour,” written in English.

The slogan is a direct translation of the German “Blut und Ehre,” a motto of the Hitler Youth.

The display of Nazi symbols or slogans is forbidden in Germany, but the court ruled that the ban only applied to those written in the German language.

It sent the case back to the lower court and noted that the defendant could still be found guilty, because the shirts also carried banned Nazi symbols.

The defendant’s name was not released.