An anti-Semitic leaflet and the name Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian economics minister and leader of the Free Voters, suddenly found themselves at the center of a heated debate.

An old leaflet reappears

We at Mimikama and also the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported on August 25th about a leaflet that was circulated more than 30 years ago.

According to the report:

  • Aiwanger, an 11th grade student at the time, is accused of writing the leaflet.
  • It was alleged that he had distributed the anti-Semitic pamphlet at the Burkhart-Gymnasium in Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg.
  • Copies of the leaflet were allegedly found in his school bag.
  • Because of the leaflet, he had to go before the school disciplinary committee and write a report as punishment.

The voices of the past

Some of his classmates at the time reported further disturbing allegations. The politician is said to have bragged about right-wing extremist ideas in his youth and practiced Hitler speeches in front of the mirror.

Aiwanger's reaction

In response to the allegations, the politician stated that he had not written the leaflet. Although he admitted that copies had been found in his bag, he claimed that the real author was known to him and would come forward soon.

Then, in a surprising turn of events, Aiwanger's older brother Helmut emerged as the alleged author of the leaflet. He took full responsibility for the content. Hubert Aiwanger himself said he couldn't remember why the leaflet was in his bag.

Echo in the media

Reactions to the affair were divided. While some, like the journalist Julian Reichelt, defended Aiwanger and claimed that the allegations were untenable, the information available so far and Aiwanger's statements paint a more nuanced picture.

In the Bavarian state parliament, a questioning of Söder and Aiwanger about the leaflet affair by the CSU and Free Voters was rejected.

Summary and Outlook

This leaflet affair shows how important media literacy is in order to be able to distinguish truth from rumors.

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This might also interest you:

“Mom, vote for me!” – The mysteries about the Bavarian election posters revealed!
How fake news catches us
Warning about the fake “Lufthansa – Germany” page on Facebook!


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )