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Opposition Party Expels Member for Anti-Semitic speech

July 20, 2004
https://p.dw.com/p/5KyL

German opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Tuesday confirmed it had expelled a member in its regional arm in the state of Hesse for an anti-Semitic speech. Martin Hohmann, a member of Parliament and a politician from Fulda, had used the term "race of perpetrators" in connection with Jews in a speech last year on German Reunification Day, October 3. State prosecutors in Fulda however decided not to pursue a probe against Hohmann for an attempt to incite hatred, a decision which was contested by Germany's Central Council of Jews. The CDU however barred Hohmann from its parliamentary fraction in Berlin. Hohmann, a member of the CDU for 24 years enjoyed popularity as the mayor in his native town of Neuhof. He was supported by over 150 CDU members who protested against his expulsion from the parliamentary fraction. Hohmann had apologized for the effect his speech had, but refused to distance himself from its content, stressing he had merely summarized historical facts.