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Beate Klarsfeld

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The Resume

    (February 13, 1939- )
    Born in Berlin, Germany
    Birth name was Beate Auguste Kunzel
    Investigative journalist
    Married partner Serge Klarsfeld in 1968
    Famous for their investigation and documentation of numerous Nazi war criminals
    Slapped former Nazi and German chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger in the face and shouted 'Kiesinger! Nazi! Nazi! Step down!' (November 7, 1968)
    Author of 'Hunting the Truth: Memoirs of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld'

Why she might be annoying:

    She's an Ethel Kennedy lookalike.
    Her parents voted for Adolf Hitler.
    She admitted to being ignorant of the Holocaust until marrying husband Serge (who lost family to the camps).
    She ran as the candidate for The Left in the 2012 German presidential election against Joachim Gauck, but lost by 126 to 991 (March 2012).
    It was revealed by a political rival in 2012 that her slapping Kiesinger was not a spontaneous act but a pre-planned act carried out with the support of East Germany's government (they even paid her to do it).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She evaded jail time for 'the slap' but lost her job over it.
    The slap permanently damaged Kiesinger's reputation (he refused to ever offer a comment on it).
    She and her husband successfully tracked down Nazi war criminals Klaus Barbie, Kurt Lischka, Alois Brunner, and Kurt Asche.
    She and her husband were both convicted in West Germany on felony kidnapping charges for attempting to extradite former Gestapo chief Kurt Lischka to France for trial (1974).
    They received two-month jail sentences but they were overturned after public outcry.
    She protested against the Soviet Union's support for the PLO and anti-Zionism.
    She and her husband have received numerous awards for their activism work.
    She was honored with the Legion of Honor by three different French Presidents (Mitterrand, Chirac and Hollande).
    Farrah Fawcett was nominated for a Golden Globe award portraying her in 'Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 144 Votes: 54.17% Annoying