MANNHEIM, Germany -- Lawyers for a German man charged with denying the Holocaust split over tactics Thursday as the judge demanded an apology from a defence lawyer for disrupting proceedings.

Prosecutors accuse Ernst Zundel, 66, of years of anti-Semitic activities, including repeated denials of the Holocaust -- a crime in Germany -- in documents and on the Internet. Zundel, an apologist for Hitler who was deported from Canada last year and has also lived in the U.S. state of Tennessee, faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Proceedings have been slowed by a string of motions, objections and interruptions from defence lawyer Sylvia Stolz, prompting presiding judge Ulrich Meinerzhagen to accuse her of insulting the court and sabotaging the trial.

The two clashed anew Thursday, with Meinerzhagen saying he suspected Stolz wanted to "make proceedings impossible so that the trial collapses."

He said the court would file a complaint to the relevant lawyers association asking them to take unspecified steps against her.

"I didn't want to bend to your will, that was the point," Stolz retorted, turning to the gallery filled with Zundel sympathizers to accuse Meinerzhagen of wanting to "put a gag on me."

She didn't respond to the judge's demand that she apologize.

Stolz is one of three defence lawyers who insist the court should examine evidence for the Holocaust. None of them have contested Zundel's alleged statements.

However, Zundel is also represented by three court-appointed lawyers, who have taken a different tack.

Lawyer Ludwig Bock told the court Thursday that it would have to examine the authorship of dozens of statements submitted by prosecutors. Meinerzhagen adjourned the trial for three weeks so that the participants can study the evidence.

Another of the court-appointed lawyers said outside the court that Stolz's approach was "catastrophic."

"For me it's a betrayal" of Zundel's interests, Hans-Ullrich Beust said.

However, Stolz, who has denounced the court as a "tool of foreign domination," said she had her client's complete trust.

"The only chance for Mr. Zundel and for Germany is that the arbitrariness is uncovered," she said outside the court. "The verdict has already been decided."

Supporters of Zundel, who wrote a book called The Hitler We Loved and Why and distributed neo-Nazi materials from Canada, says he is a peaceful man being denied his right to free speech.

He has yet to address the court.