The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported on the case in its Saturday edition. Accordingly, Aiwanger is suspected of having written the anti-Semitic leaflet as a student and having it displayed at his school. According to the newspaper, it spoke to a number of eyewitnesses who reported on the incident and also quoted from the document with the right-wing extremist content.
The witnesses, who wanted to remain anonymous, reported to the “SZ” that Aiwanger was held responsible as the author of the pamphlet. Accordingly, the disciplinary committee of the school met. Aiwanger did not dispute his authorship and was “punished”.
The report caused great outrage and put the Free Voters boss under pressure a few weeks before the Bavarian state elections. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) told the “SZ” that there were “serious allegations in the room”. These must be clarified and completely eliminated. Demands for his resignation came from the Bavarian opposition.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Anyone who mocks the victims of Auschwitz must not bear any responsibility in our country.” The federal government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, said that if the allegations were true, Aiwanger would be “unacceptable” as deputy prime minister of Bavaria.
Aiwanger stated in his statement that he “completely distanced himself from the paper”. He knows the author of the leaflet. This will “explain itself”, he announced. “Neither then nor now was and is my way of ratting on other people.”
According to Aiwanger, “one or a few copies” of the leaflet were found in his school bag. The school management “threatened to call the police if I didn’t clarify the matter,” explained Aiwanger.
As a way out, he was offered to give a presentation. “I accepted this under pressure. That was the end of the school matter.” However, he cannot remember whether he “made a statement or passed on individual copies” at the time, Aiwanger added.
A little later, Aiwanger’s older brother spoke up and took responsibility for the anti-Semitic document. “I am the author of this leaflet reproduced in the press,” the Bayern media group quoted 53-year-old Helmut Aiwanger as saying. “I distance myself from the content in every respect. I regret the consequences of the action.”
According to the report by the media group, the two brothers attended the eleventh grade of the Burkhart-Gymnasium in Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg in Lower Bavaria in the 1987/88 school year.
The leaflet was written by Helmut Aiwanger after he had to repeat a grade, the Bayern media group reported. “I was totally angry at the time because I failed at school and was torn out of my circle of friends,” said the 53-year-old accordingly.
According to the “SZ” report, the leaflet was apparently the reaction to a student competition on German history. The pamphlet calls for participation in an alleged federal competition: “Who is the biggest traitor to the fatherland?” Applicants should report “in the Dachau concentration camp for an interview,” it said. The first prize was “A free flight through the chimney in Auschwitz”. Also up for grabs is “A lifelong stay in a mass grave”.
