AfD leader Höcke justifies himself for using a Nazi slogan in a TV duel with Voigt - and gets into trouble with Telekom's lawyers. Now he's half backing down.
Update from April 13th, 6:16 p.m
.: Telekom's legal threat is having an effect: After the fuss over a Nazi saying, AfD leader Björn Höcke admitted his mistake. “I mixed something up,” he told
focus.de
and at the same time added: “In fact, Telekom used the saying 'To each their own', which is displayed above the entrance gate to the Buchenwald concentration camp.” He obviously didn't mean that back down without comment.
In fact, Telekom used the slogan for its advertising in 2001, as
n-tv
reported. Accordingly, it was apparently used out of ignorance on the part of the copywriters, as a company spokesman told the media at the time. The responsible Hamburg advertising agency also apologized.
According to the justice news portal
jurios.de,
the phrase, which is still quite unreflectively in common parlance, was used by several large companies in advertising campaigns well into the 2000s. Meanwhile, according to the Halle public prosecutor's office, Björn Höcke is "sufficiently suspicious" of having used the SA slogan "Everything for Germany" at a party event at the end of 2023 "by saying the first part of the slogan - 'Everything for' - himself, and then animated the audience with gestures to shout the second part – 'Germany'.”
Because of the claim in the TV duel: Telekom hires a lawyer for Höcke
First report from April 12th
: Berlin – Björn Höcke (AfD) is said to have used the slogan “Everything for Germany” in the past. The slogan is said to have been coined by the National Socialist Sturmabteilung (SA) in the Third Reich. In the TV duel with the Thuringian CDU leader Mario Voigt, the AfD leader tried to justify the use of the slogan - by listing other cases in which the phrase was allegedly used. According to media reports, Telekom, which appeared in the list, now wants to take legal action.
“Björn Höcke’s claim is false,” a Telekom spokesman told
Focus
. “We are passing this on to our lawyers and will immediately send Mr. Höcke a cease and desist request.” According to the company’s information to
Focus
, there have already been several cases in which the AfD has spread false allegations about Telekom. In October 2023, AfD federal spokeswoman Alice Weidel was said to have been involved in a similar incident.
Fact check on Höcke accusation – AfD boss in court because of SA slogans
In the duel with Voigt, Höcke also referred to the campaign slogan “America First”, which the Republican Donald Trump uses. Höcke said he had merely translated the phrase into German. He also claimed that both Ludwig II of Bavaria and Franz Beckenbauer had used the slogan in the past.
Höcke was presumably alluding to the following statements made by the two personalities. Football coach Beckenbauer said in a
Bild
guest post before a game: “I expect the team to give everything for Germany. Full steam ahead!” No such quote is known from Ludwig II. However, according to the records of the House of Bavarian History, Ludwig I of Bavaria said in a royal proclamation from 1848: “Everything for my people, everything for Germany!” But since this quote comes from the time before National Socialism, it cannot active connection between the SA slogan and the statement of Ludwig I can be established.
Höcke is currently on trial for using the SA slogan “Everything for Germany”. The charges against the AfD man refer to Section 86 Paragraph 1 No. 4 of the Criminal Code. Accordingly, propaganda content that is “intended to continue the efforts of a former National Socialist organization” is prohibited. According to the law, this can result in a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine. According to his own statements, the AfD leader and former history teacher did not know that the statement was an SA slogan.
(lismah)