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Neo-Nazi trial

The trial of Beate Zschäpe and four men charged with helping a neo-Nazi terror cell carry out 10 race-related murders reconvenes today after a week-long adjournment. DW is following the events.

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Defence lawyers Anja Sturm (L) Wolfgang Stahl and Wolfgang Heer (R) sit at their desk before proceedings are resumed in the trial of Beate Zschaepe and four others involving neo-Nazi racist murders, in Munich May 14, 2013. The trial against a previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which is accused of murdering nine Turkish and Greek immigrants and a policewoman from 2000 to 2007, resumed on Tuesday. The focus of the trial is 38-year-old woman, Beate Zschaepe, who is accused of being an NSU founder member and faces charges of complicity in the murders, two bombings in Cologne and 15 bank robberies. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial. The existence of the NSU emerged in November 2011 after Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos of the NSU were found dead in a burnt-out mobile home and the third Zschaepe, gave herself in to police. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (GERMANY - Tags: CRIME LAW) — Image: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

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It is the biggest trial on far-right extremism in Germany since World War II, centering on Beate Zschäpe and the National Socialist Underground (NSU) neo-Nazi group she allegedly co-founded. Authorities hold the group responsible for the murders of eight Turkish men, a Greek man and a policewoman. Aside from Zschäpe, another four defendants stand accused of having supported the right-wing terror cell.

The trial opened on Monday but was adjourned later in the day for a week after defense lawyers questioned the impartiality of the judges. Zschäpe's lawyers lodged the application after defense lawyers were searched for guns when entering the court while prosecutors were not.

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Reports & Analysis

The parliamentary committee (photo: Stephanie Pilick/dpa pixel)

The parliamentary committee (photo: Stephanie Pilick/dpa pixel)

Total failure

German politicians spent 15 months evaluating mistakes in pursuing neo-Nazi extremism.

MUNICH, GERMANY - APRIL 13: Activists protesting against right-wing violence demonstrate in the city center five days ahead of the beginning of the NSU murder trial on April 13, 2013 in Munich, Germany. The main defendant in the trial is Beate Zschaepe, who lived for years together with Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt, the two men who in a cartoon video DVD took responsibility for the murder of nine immigrants and one policewoman over an eight-year period and claimed to belong to an organization calling itself the National Socialist Underground, or NSU. Mundlos and Boehnhardt committed suicide following a bank robbery in 2011. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

MUNICH, GERMANY - APRIL 13: Activists protesting against right-wing violence demonstrate in the city center five days ahead of the beginning of the NSU murder trial on April 13, 2013 in Munich, Germany. The main defendant in the trial is Beate Zschaepe, who lived for years together with Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt, the two men who in a cartoon video DVD took responsibility for the murder of nine immigrants and one policewoman over an eight-year period and claimed to belong to an organization calling itself the National Socialist Underground, or NSU. Mundlos and Boehnhardt committed suicide following a bank robbery in 2011. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Survivors struggle with the media glare

The families of the NSU murder victims are trying to cope with the pain and media attention.

Defendant Beate Zschaepe arrives in the courtroom in Munich May 14, 2013. Proceedings in the trial against a previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which is accused of murdering nine Turkish and Greek immigrants and a policewoman from 2000 to 2007, resumed on Tuesday. The focus of the trial is 38-year-old woman, Zschaepe, who is accused of being an NSU founder member and faces charges of complicity in the murders, two bombings in Cologne and 15 bank robberies. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial. The existence of the NSU emerged in November 2011 after Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos of the NSU were found dead in a burnt-out mobile home and the third Zschaepe, gave herself in to police. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Defendant Beate Zschaepe arrives in the courtroom in Munich May 14, 2013. Proceedings in the trial against a previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which is accused of murdering nine Turkish and Greek immigrants and a policewoman from 2000 to 2007, resumed on Tuesday. The focus of the trial is 38-year-old woman, Zschaepe, who is accused of being an NSU founder member and faces charges of complicity in the murders, two bombings in Cologne and 15 bank robberies. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial. The existence of the NSU emerged in November 2011 after Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos of the NSU were found dead in a burnt-out mobile home and the third Zschaepe, gave herself in to police. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Waning interest

The public's interest in the neo-Nazi trial in Munich has started to wane after just two days.

Neo-Nazi trial resumes

The trial of accused neo-Nazi killer Beate Zschäpe and four co-defendants is set to resume in Munich.

Turkish newspapers

Turkish newspapers

Press reaction

"An impudent Nazi" - Turkey's media reports on the opening of the NSU trial.

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NSU-Prozess – Presseplätze verlost

In München sind die 50 Plätze für Journalisten beim NSU-Prozess vergeben worden - per Los. Für türkische Medien wurden vier Sitze reserviert. Die waren bei der ersten Platzvergabe leer ausgegangen, obwohl acht der zehn Mordopfer der Anschlagserie türkische Wurzeln hatten.

German riot police stand in front of a courthouse, where the trial against Beate Zschaepe, a member of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU) (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/DW)

German riot police stand in front of a courthouse, where the trial against Beate Zschaepe, a member of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU) (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/DW)

Emotions high at neo-Nazi trial

Major security checks around Munich courthouse.

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Legal team motions for court bias

The trial of the main suspect and accomplices accused in the murders of 10 mainly foreign residents of Germany is to continue next week.

A placard displays victims of the NSU murders Photo: Stefan Sauer dpa/lmv +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

A placard displays victims of the NSU murders Photo: Stefan Sauer dpa/lmv +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Mistake after mistake

On Monday, the NSU murder trial begins after a run-up that was riddled with problems.

Right-Wing Terror on Trial - Beate Zschäpe and the NSU Quagmire

On April 17th, the world will be watching as opening arguments are heard in the trial of accused far-right terrorist Beate Zschäpe and her alleged accomplices from the National Socialist Underground, or NSU. The series of murders was without precedent, terrifying and is still difficult to comprehend.

The Munich courtroom (photo: REUTERS/Michael Dalder)

The Munich courtroom (photo: REUTERS/Michael Dalder)

NSU trial defendants

The trial against Beate Zschäpe and four NSU supporters begins May 6 in Munich.

Terrorist Victims - the Survivors Speak Out

German security agencies were slow in following up possible right-wing extremist motives for the murders, first considering ethnic conflicts or organized crime. Such allegations only added shock and humiliation to the pain the victims' families felt over their losses. Among them was the family of Halit Yozgat, shot dead in Kassel, allegedly by NSU terrorists.

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