The Story

Germany’s best known comedian has proven that he can do more than just crack jokes by getting hold of an intelligence report that was originally supposed to be kept secret for 120 years.

Jan Böhmermann, host of ZDF show Neo Magazin Royale, told his viewers that he’d obtained a copy of the Hesse state spy agency’s evaluation of what its spooks knew about a Nazi terror cell that randomly killed migrants back in the nougties.

The report’s contents had been the subject of fevered speculation due to the fact that it was put under lock and key for an absurdly long period of time.

Adding to the sense that authorities in Hesse had something to hide was the fact that one of the agency’s spies was inside an internet cafe in the town of Kassel in 2006 when the terrorists entered it and shot its owner dead. The spy later told a court that he’d seen and heard nothing.

There is a widespread suspicion that German spies knew more than they are willing to admit about the actions of the National S…