A rally promoting human rights in China took place in Nuremberg, Germany, a city known as the hub of human rights because that’s where the famous Nuremberg Trials were held.
Past and present converged in the heart of Nuremberg. Here, human rights defenders raised their voices against the decades-long persecution of Falun Gong in China.
The meditation practice, also known as Falun Dafa, has been brutally suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Countless people have been beaten, imprisoned, and even tortured to death, only for their beliefs.
Ursula Dusolt who is a member of the International Society of Human Rights said, “We have freedom of faith, which is for all people. China has also signed the Charter of Human Rights. Faith offers us so much satisfaction and happiness. I think it’s very important for people to be able to exercise this right freely, especially in China.”
Dressed in blue uniforms, Falun Gong practitioners formed a marching band. Their music conveyed holiday wishes, and the principles they hold fast to—Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
Many of these practitioners were direct victims of the CCP’s campaign of persecution. One of them recalled how the police forced her to renounce her faith with dehumanizing tactics.
Zhao Meiling, a performer of the Tian Guo Marching Band, said, “For thirteen days, I was forced to remain to stand and not allowed to sleep … Because of my resistance, they force-fed me. They inserted a tube into my nose. I didn’t cooperate, then they inserted the tube into my lungs. This caused me to cough and spit up blood for over a month.”
Zhao said she has twice sued Jiang Zemin, the former CCP leader who initiated the nationwide persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. Jiang recently died of leukemia and multiple organ failure.
Other faith groups in China are under similar pressure. Helga Maul who is a member of the Tibetan Support Group in Nuremberg cited an example, pointing to the Tibetan flag on her hat.
“If you show that, show that in protests, in our vigil, if you show that in Tibet, it’s considered a political offense and you go to work camp or go to prison for at least 10 years. Just for this.”
Their stories evoke the history of Nuremberg, once a center of Nazi propaganda.
However, between 1945 and 1946, Nazi leaders stood trial for their crimes in the courtroom of Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice in Germany.
The Nuremberg Trials established international criminal law making all people, even heads of state, accountable for crimes against humanity.
Nuremberg was chosen as the location of the trials for being a focal point of Nazi propaganda rallies leading up to the war. The allies wanted Nuremberg to symbolize the death of Nazi Germany. The court convened in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg that was previously expanded by German prisoners to fit up to 1,200 detainees.
World history was written in the courtroom of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. This is where leaders of the Nazi regime had to answer for their crimes before an International Military Tribunal between Nov. 20, 1945 and Oct. 1, 1946. The trials had an enormous influence on the development of international criminal law right up to the present.
The Nuremberg trials established that all of humanity would be guarded by an international legal shield and that even a head of state would be held criminally responsible and punished for aggression and crimes against humanity. The right of humanitarian intervention to put a stop to crimes against humanity, even by a sovereign against his own citizens, gradually emerged from the Nuremberg principles affirmed by the United Nations.
In the city’s Human Rights Street, the UN Declaration of Human Rights is inscribed in dozens of languages.
Retired engineer Lothar Eckes said, “This is something we as a nation has worked on … and I think maybe this is an example for other countries too, to follow this way. Nobody is sure not to make any mistakes, any big mistakes even. And I do not hope that something like that would be repeated now in China or in Russia.”
Dusolt said, “My appeal to the Chinese Communist Party is to please let Falun Gong practitioners have the peace to uphold their faith. The country will also benefit from this.”
Hubert Körper, a member of the International Society of Human Rights, said, “I address those who are involved in the persecutions, whether it’s against Falun Gong or the Uyghurs, they should stop doing that because they will be held accountable for their deeds.”
The rally ended with a peaceful candlelight vigil, appealing for justice in the historic city.