“Waffen-SS”: a new criticism of the old Keckel statement

The case of AfD politician Maximilian Krah is reminiscent of a statement made by the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, in 2010. At the time, he dismissed the collective condemnation of Waffen-SS members as “nonsense.”

Following the excitement surrounding statements by the AfD's top candidate for the EU elections, Maximilian Krah, about the SS, a similar statement by Austria's Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl in 2010 sparked criticism. In the ATV debate, the then FPÖ Secretary-General dismissed the collective condemnation of Waffen-SS members as “nonsense” along with the then head of the Israeli Community (IKG), Ariel Muzikant, as the newspaper “Profil” first reported on Friday.

“We will not be able to agree to collectively condemn a club per se or a unit like the Waffen-SS,” Kickl said during the debate 14 years ago. Keckel believes that guilt is an individual thing, just as innocence is an individual thing. In response to Muzicant's objection to the classification of the Waffen-SS as a criminal organization at the Nuremberg Trials, Kickl responded that it was “mere nonsense” if a “collective presumption of innocence” was applied to the Wehrmacht.

Criticism of political competition

These wide-ranging statements sparked criticism from the SPÖ and the ÖVP on Friday. It is not surprising that the Freedom Party of Austria voted against the exclusion of the AfD from the common right-wing faction ID in the EU Parliament: “No, Kickl himself downplayed the importance of the Waffen-SS,” the SPÖ said in the SMS “X “. .

Christian Stocker, Secretary General of the ÖVP, criticized, saying: “These statements by Herbert Kickl are a belittling of the horrors of National Socialism and reveal Kickl's worldview.” “Anyone who practices politics with that kind of attitude has no place in the democratic spectrum of parties,” Stocker said. It is hoped that “the moderate forces within the Freedom Party will come to their senses and put an end to Kickel's activities.”

Neus demanded an immediate clarification from FPÖ top EU candidate Harald Velimski and accused him of hypocrisy because he called Krah's statement unacceptable but did not criticize Keckel's statement. Secretary-General Douglas Hoyos said in a statement that there is no difference in content, as both those who say it belittle the cold-blooded killing of the SS forces in an intolerable manner, and both are unacceptable. “Whether it is the AfD-Krahe or the Austrian Freedom Party-Keckl, underestimating the importance of the SS is intolerable,” criticized Green Party Secretary General Olga Voglauer. Such historical revisionism shows “whose godchild is Herbert Kickl and his far-right Freedom Party of Austria.”

No statement has been issued by the FPÖ at the present time

The FPÖ did not want to comment on this on Friday. The previous day, the AfD had been expelled from the right-wing Identity faction, which, in addition to the Austrian Freedom Party, includes the French National Rally and the Italian League. Krah, an AfD lawmaker and front-runner, had previously caused sharp criticism within the faction by saying, among other things, that not every SS man was a criminal. The Freedom Party of Austria voted on Thursday to exclude Krahe, but did not support the exclusion of the entire AfD delegation. (Abba)