Pedro Varela Geiss Explained

Birth Date:9 October 1957
Birth Place:Barcelona, Spain
Occupation:Librarian, author, publisher
Known For:Holocaust denial
Criminal Charges:Convicted for Holocaust denial
Children:One

Pedro Varela Geiss (born 9 October 1957) is a Spanish writer, librarian and Holocaust denier. He was the owner of a Neo-Nazi bookstore in Barcelona that is now closed, and he describes himself as a “National Socialist” inspired by Adolf Hitler. He was also the former President of the disbanded Neo-Nazi group CEDADE to which the Belgian Nazi collaborator Léon Degrelle belonged.

Biography

Born in Barcelona,[1] he became the President of CEDADE in 1978,[2] publishing Holocaust denial material.[3]

In 1992, he spent three months in pre-trial detention in Austria for a Nazi speech that he gave, but he was acquitted. After the end of CEDADE, he opened the Libreria Europa bookstore in Barcelona, from which he promoted pro-Nazi speeches, conferences, lectures, and books on anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.[4] In 1998, he was sentenced to five years in prison for justifying genocide because of the Holocaust denial material that he sold at his store.[5]

In 2010, he was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for the felony of "disseminating genocidal ideals".[6] He was released from prison on 8 March 2012.[7] He went back to run his bookstore. However, in July 2016, his bookstore was closed down for inciting hate speech and racial discrimination.[8]

Personal life

He has a daughter. He is a mountaineer and an enthusiast of Richard Wagner and his body of work. He is also a Roman Catholic and a vegetarian.

Notes and References

  1. News: El nazi Varela siembra cruces gamadas en prisión | Edición impresa | EL PAÍS . El País . 15 January 2012 . 3 December 2016. Bueno . Jesús García .
  2. Book: Holocaust Denial as an International Movement . Stephen E. Atkins . 2009 . Bloomsbury Academic . 9780313345388 . 3 December 2016.
  3. Book: Antisemitism and Xenophobia in Germany After Unification . Hermann Kurthen . Werner Bergmann . Rainer Erb . 29 May 1997 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-511010-4 . 3 December 2016.
  4. Web site: Is Europe on the "Right" Path? . Library.fes.de . 3 December 2016.
  5. Book: Mapping the Extreme Right in Contemporary Europe: From Local to Transnational . Andrea Mammone . Emmanuel Godin . Brian Jenkins . 16 May 2012 . Routledge . 9780415502641 . 3 December 2016.
  6. News: Dos años y nueves meses de cárcel para el neonazi Pedro Varela | Actualidad | EL PAÍS . El País . 8 March 2010 . 3 December 2016.
  7. Web site: Sale en libertad el dueño de la filonazi Librería Europa tras cumplir 15 meses de cárcel | Barcelona . Elmundo.es . 3 December 2016.
  8. Web site: Revista de Claseshistoria : Publicación digital de Historia y Ciencias Sociales : Artículo Nº 293 . 15 April 2012 . 1989-4988 . Claseshistoria.com . 3 December 2016.