Ursula Haverbeck, a notable figure in Germany’s far-right movement, passed away at the age of 96. Her lawyer confirmed her death on Thursday, revealing that she had died on Wednesday.
Haverbeck was known for her controversial claims regarding the Holocaust, particularly her assertion that Auschwitz functioned merely as a labor camp. However, historians widely agree that the site was the location where over 1.1 million Jews were brutally killed during the Nazi regime.
Her legal troubles began in 2004 when she was first convicted and fined for Holocaust denial. Following that conviction, she faced multiple charges for incitement, some penalties of which included prison time. Notably, she served more than two years behind bars in Bielefeld from 2018 to 2020 due to her inflammatory statements.
In 2019, she was selected as a candidate for the far-right party known as The Right in the European Parliament elections. Despite her contentious history, Haverbeck remained involved in right-wing politics throughout her life.
Most recently, Haverbeck was sentenced in June by the Hamburg state court to one year and four months in prison for her remarks regarding Auschwitz. She was in the process of appealing that sentence at the time of her death.