Excitement about the pro-Russia symbol: Regensburgers discover donuts with the “Z” symbol in the bakery
Created: 10/27/2022, 5:47 p.m
By: Catherine Brumbauer
Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, it has repeatedly appeared as a pro-Russian symbol: the letter Z. In Regensburg, a bakery used it in a different context.
Nevertheless, the use caused a stir.
Regensburg - If the donuts had been draped differently in the display, so that an "N" rather than a "Z" could be seen on them, then the sweet pastries would probably not have attracted so much attention.
On Tuesday afternoon (October 25), donuts decorated with the "Z" symbol were displayed in the display of a bakery in Regensburg, which apparently annoyed some customers.
Donuts with a special decoration caused a stir in Regensburg (symbol image).
© Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
The letter Z is currently omnipresent in the media as a pro-Russian war symbol.
In this context, the "Z" stands for the Russian expression "To victory".
Translated into English, the slogan is "Za pobedoy".
Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, the "Z" has been used repeatedly to support Russia in its war of aggression.
Donuts with the "Z" symbol in Regensburg: "Has absolutely nothing to do with the war in Ukraine"
A spokeswoman for the bakery told the
Mittelbayerische Zeitung
about the incident: "The production of these donuts has absolutely nothing to do with the war in Ukraine."
One family - whose name begins with a Z - would have explicitly wanted the donuts to have this decoration.
The remaining pieces went on sale.
No one thought that the letter would be associated with a pro-Russian attitude.
The Regensburg police confirmed to our editorial team that there was no connection with the Ukraine war.
The MZ article is still making waves on Facebook.
But there is no horror at the use of the Z symbol.
The commentators consider a connection with the Ukraine war to be exaggerated.
All news from Regensburg and the surrounding area are always up to date and only available from us.
Z Symbol Usage: When It Becomes a Criminal Offense
The sale of the donuts for the bakery had no consequences.
In fact, in 2022 the officials in Regensburg were only investigating "in a small, single-digit number of cases" in which the Z symbol was attached in public space by previously unknown persons, explains Claus Feldmeier, press spokesman for the Oberpfalz police headquarters on
Merkur.de
.
A background to the declaration of sympathy for Russia in its war of aggression in Ukraine "one must be able to assume," says Feldmeier.
Then the use of the Z symbol can represent an offense according to paragraph 140 StGB and be punishable.
This paragraph regulates the offense of "approval of criminal offences".
Originally, according to Feldmeier, the paragraph was introduced to punish cases in which, for example, someone publicly approves of killing a person of color or insulting a homosexual.
Public condoning of such a crime - including aggressive war - can result in imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.
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