Former Weightlifting Champion Punches President of Germany
A homeless former weightlifting champion who punched German President Richard von Weizsaecker in the face told police he wanted a day in court to talk about the president’s links with the Nazis.
Von Weizsaecker, 73, suffered a cut lip and a bruised nose after being punched Thursday night outside the Thalia theater in Hamburg. He was dazed but stayed for the performance.
Bodyguards apprehended the attacker, who appeared deranged, police said. He was identified Friday as Gunther Horst Roersch, 48.
Roersch, the 1970 German heavyweight weightlifting champion, is homeless and hangs around the Hamburg port’s red-light district, said police spokesman Michael Wenig. A court was considering whether to charge him or commit him to psychiatric care.
Von Weizsaecker, whose father was a leading Third Reich diplomat, served in the military during World War II--as did nearly all Germans of his age. He was wounded several times and was a captain at war’s end but was not a Nazi.
As president, Von Weizsaecker has earned worldwide praise by denouncing neo-Nazi violence.
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