German State Official Denies Writing an Antisemitic Flyer when he was at School

A week before a state election, the deputy governor of Germany’s Bavaria state denied accusations that he was behind an anti-Semitic flyer while still a highschool student.

Hubert Aiwanger said in a statement that he didn’t write the leaflet and finds its contents „disgusting and inhuman”, adding that the person who developed the handout would likely explain themselves, as it wasn’t and isn’t his style to „squeal on other people.”

He also claimed that he knows who created the brochure. Later, the politician’s brother claimed to be the author.

According to a report published on Friday in the daily German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Aiwanger was accused of authoring a typed flyer when he was 17 years old, inviting participants to a tournament with the subject „Who is the biggest traitor to the fatherland?“

Among other things, it mentioned a „1st prize: a free flight through the chimney at Auschwitz.” The publication claimed to have spoken with a number of unnamed individuals, who said that Aiwanger had been disciplined at the time.

Aiwanger claimed in his Statement that the Headteacher had called him in after discovering one or more copies of the Flyer in his Bag. He claimed, he agreed to submit a statement under duress, after being threatened with police involvement, if he didn’t clarify the situation.

Aiwanger omitted to describe the details of the talk. However, he claimed that was the end of the problem. He claimed that 35 years later, he dissociates himself „completely” from the booklet.

Later, Aiwanger’s older brother admitted to being the author, according to German news agency dpa. It cited a statement from the sibling in which he distanced himself from the „unspeakable” contents of the brochure and expressed sorry for its effects.

He also claimed that he was upset at the time because he had failed at the school. The declaration came after similar remarks made to the Mediengruppe Bayern media group by Helmut Aiwanger, 53.

The Free Voters, a conservative force in Bavaria but without representation in the German Federal Parliament, are led by Hubert Aiwanger, who is currently 52 years old. Since his party was made the junior partner in the long-dominant center-right Christian Social Union of Bavaria’s regional government in 2018, he has served as the state’s deputy governor and economy minister.

The State election in Bavaria is scheduled for October 8. Markus Soeder, the governor of Bavaria and head of the CSU, asked earlier on Saturday that the accusations be „cleared up, and completely.”