Tunisian synagogue bomber sentenced
Christian Ganczerski, a German convert to Islam and a former al Qaida member, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for participating in the 2002 bombing of a Tunisian synagogue. A Paris court ruled Feb. 5 that Ganczerski helped kill 21 people when he gave the signal to bomb an ancient monument and synagogue in Djerba. Most of the victims were European tourists.
Prosecutors had asked for a 30-year prison sentence and tried to demonstrate that Ganczerski had ties to senior al Qaida terrorists, according to the Associated Press. Ganczerski claimed he “knew nothing” about the bombing, the French news agency AFP reported.
Walid Nawar, the brother of the man who rammed himself and a fuel tanker packed with explosives into the Djerba synagogue, also was sentenced to 12 years in prison for helping carry out the attack. — jta
Woman who saved Anne Frank diary turns 100
Miep Gies, who gathered up Anne Frank’s scattered papers and notebooks after the Franks’ hiding place was raided in 1944, celebrated her 100th birthday Feb. 15.
Gies is Anne’s last surviving “helper,” a term Anne used for people who provided food, books and good cheer while she and her family hid from the Nazis in a tiny attic apartment.
After Gies gathered Anne’s paper and notes, she locked them — unread — in a desk drawer to await the teenager’s return. She later gave the collection to Anne’s father, Otto, the only survivor among the eight people who hid in the concealed attic. — jta
Righteous German officer honored
The German officer made famous in Roman Polanski’s 2002 film “The Pianist” has been posthumously recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for his efforts to rescue Jews during the Holocaust.
Wilm Hosenfeld was stationed in Poland during World War II, and survivors later testified he employed them in his role as a sports and culture officer, and also that he provided hiding places.
After the war, Hosenfeld was arrested by the Soviets and sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentence was commuted to 25 years, but Hosenfeld died in a Soviet prison in 1952.