German neo-Nazi apologizes to families for her killing spree

German ne0-Nazi Beate Zschaepe, aged 40, gave apologies to families of her victims for her involvement in a killing spree against eight Turkish and one Greek immigrant, as well as a police officer. She told the families that she was “morally guilty” for the deaths of their loved ones. Her lawyer, Mathias Grasel, made a statement after her refusal to answer questions about the case for 2 1/2 years. Infront of the Munich courtroom, she was portrayed as a victim of the neo-Nazis and stated that she had nothing to do with the killings that took place from 2000 to 2007.

“I sincerely apologize to all of the victims and relatives of the victims,” she said in her statement. “I feel morally guilty for not preventing 10 murders and 2 bomb attacks.”

She denied that she was a co-founder of the Nationalist Socialist Underground group, along with her lovers Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boehnhardt. These two men were found dead in a murder-suicide in 2011.

Zschaepe’s 53-page statement that was read in court was criticized by families that believe it lacked credibility. There were hopes that Zschaepe would have named her other accomplices and provide additional information for which she has kept silence.

Her testimony describes a difficult childhood and states that she fell in love with Mundlos as a teenager before joining the far-right scene spreading through formerly communist East Germany. In her testimony, she portrays herself as a passive bystander who couldn’t find the strength to leave the two men and go to the police because the pair had threatened to kill themselves if she did. Critics, however, see her testimony as a ploy to lessen her sentence.