The axe has finally fallen on East Berlin’s notorious neo-Nazi rendezvous bar Zum Henker (The Hangman) and the world’s most politically incorrect cocktail, “The Himla”, named after the Third Reich’s chief executioner Heinrich Himmler.
Zum Henker now sits on death row after German justice decided on Valentine’s Day to evict its host, London-born right-wing radical Paul Barrington.
Berlin’s Central Court found the property’s owners were justified in serving Barrington an immediate eviction notice as he had misled them about the bar’s true nature.
Berlin’s Central Court gave Barrington 24 hours to vacate the Zum Henker premises. However, Zum Henker remains defiant, declaring it’s open for (far-right) business as usual. Barrington – backed by battle-hardened lawyers from Germany’s ultra-right Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) – is expected to appeal the decision.
Henker patrons can expect a stay of execution of just 30 days as Barrington’s appeal against the Hangman’s death sentence will most likely fall on the deaf ears of German justice.
But the Himla Cocktail’s days are not numbered, promises the NPD’s Brandenburg frontman Klaus Beier. Neither will Henker patrons be left dangling high and dry. There are browner pastures elsewhere.
“They’ll simply re-open a new bar under the name “Hangman II” somewhere else in Berlin,” says Beier.
If Barrington’s Henker proves anything, it’s proof there is life after death. Prost.
