Hubert Aiwanger, the leader of the Bavaria-only Free Voters (Freie Wähler) party and the deputy premier of the state of Bavaria in Germany, is under fire after the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) national daily paper, alleged that he was behind an antisemitic flyer distributed when he was in high school in the 1980s.
The flyer reportedly made mocking references to the Holocaust, parodying a national history competition calling for entries to a competition titled “Who is the biggest traitor to the fatherland?”
It listed, among other things, a “1st prize: a free flight through the chimney at Auschwitz.”
Bavarian state premier Markus Söder was quoted by SZ, calling the pamphlet "downright disgusting" and saying Aiwanger would have to comment on the allegations quickly.
Aiwanger denied the accusations, saying only that he did not write the pamphlet or endorse its contents, that he knew the actual author's identity, and that they would come forward themselves. He also said he was considering legal action.
"I did not write the paper in question and consider the content disgusting and inhumane," Aiwanger said in a written statement. "The author of the paper is known to me, he will explain himself."
Later on Saturday, Aiwanger's elder brother Helmut said that he had written the leaflet. "I am the author of the leaflet reproduced in the press," he said in a statement, adding that he regretted the consequences of this action. He said that he had written and distributed the document when upset at having to repeat a year in school.
"At the time, I was completely furious because I had failed in school and was being torn away from my group of classmates," Helmut Aiwanger said. "I was still a minor at the time. That is basically all I can say about that."