In an ATV dialogue, the then FPÖ common secretary rejected a collective condemnation of the members of the Waffen-SS as “nonsense” to the then president of the Israelite Spiritual Group (IKG), Ariel Muzicant, as “Profil” initially reported on Friday.
“We will be unable to agree that a company as such or a unit such because the Waffen-SS must be discovered collectively responsible,” stated Kickl throughout the debate 14 years in the past. Guilt is one thing particular person, simply as innocence is one thing particular person, argued Kickl. In response to Muzicant’s objection that the Waffen-SS was categorized as a prison group within the Nuremberg trials, Kickl replied that it was “simply as nonsense” if a “collective presumption of innocence” utilized to the Wehrmacht.
“Trivializing the horrors of Nationwide Socialism”
The statements that had been unfold sparked criticism from all different events on Friday. It was not stunning that the FPÖ voted in opposition to excluding the AfD from the joint right-wing faction ID within the EU Parliament: “No, Kickl himself trivialized the Waffen-SS,” the SPÖ defined on the quick message service X. “These statements by Herbert Kickl trivialize the horrors of Nationwide Socialism and reveal Kickl’s worldview,” criticized ÖVP Basic Secretary Christian Stocker. “Anybody who does politics with such a mentality has no place in a democratic celebration spectrum,” stated Stocker. It’s to be hoped “that the reasonable forces inside the Freedom Occasion come to their senses and put an finish to Kickl’s actions.”
The NEOS demanded a direct clarification from FPÖ EU prime candidate Harald Vilimsky and accused him of hypocrisy as a result of he had described Krah’s assertion as unacceptable, however had not criticized Kickl’s assertion. There was no distinction in content material, each statements trivialized the cold-blooded homicide of the SS in an insufferable approach, each had been unacceptable, stated NEOS Basic Secretary Douglas Hoyos in a press release. “Whether or not AfD-Krah or FPÖ-Kickl, trivializing the SS is insupportable,” criticized Inexperienced Occasion Basic Secretary Olga Voglauer. Such historic revisionism exhibits “whose brainchild Herbert Kickl and his right-wing extremist FPÖ are.”
The FPÖ didn’t need to touch upon this on Friday. The day earlier than, the German AfD was excluded from the right-wing ID parliamentary group, which, along with the FPÖ, additionally consists of the French Rassemblement Nationwide celebration and the Italian Lega. Earlier than this, AfD MP and prime candidate Krah had precipitated sharp criticism inside the parliamentary group with, amongst different issues, the assertion that not each SS man was a prison. The FPÖ voted on Thursday to exclude Krah, however didn’t assist that of the complete AfD delegation.
