A journalist polarizes several times on Twitter. During the ZDF film “The Wannsee Conference” she goes too far with her statements – that has consequences.
Vienna/Frankfurt – The tabloid journalist Anna Dobler polarizes again and again. Now she has caused an outcry on Twitter. On the occasion of the ZDF film “The Wannsee Conference” on the 80th anniversary of the conference at which the mass murder of millions of Jews was planned in 1942, Dobler said on Monday evening (January 24, 2022) according to the editorial network Germany (RND): “These were not only murderers, but also socialists through and through.”
Shortly thereafter, Dobler deleted the tweet and explained: “I deleted the tweet because it is disputed whether the Nazis were ‘through and through’ socialists.” “But there is sufficient evidence of socialist tendencies within National Socialism,” Dobler explained, according to RND, linking an article in the British newspaper “Independent” entitled “Hitler and the socialist dream”. She did not name the evidence. “Learn history first,” Dobler urged her critics instead.
Equating Nazis and Socialists: “Arguments from the Extreme Right”
Many users of the social network accused the journalist of historical revisionism. “These are arguments from right-wing extremists and not part of the mainstream, neither in history nor anywhere else,” explained political scientist and contemporary historian Florian Bieber on Twitter.
The Nazi comparison also has professional consequences for the journalist. Dobler’s employer, the tabloid portal Exxpress from Austria, distanced itself from her statement in a statement on Tuesday morning (January 25, 2022) and also reacted with the immediate dismissal. According to a statement by editor-in-chief Richard Schmitt and publisher Eva Schütz, the opinion expressed by Anna Dobler on Twitter about the film “Wannsee Conference” does not correspond to that of the editors. “No, the National Socialists who planned and carried out the Holocaust were not ‘socialists’, as Anna Dobler demonstrably falsely claimed in her post.”
Wannsee Conference: Anyone who draws Nazi comparisons in the corona pandemic should read the minutes
80 years ago, leading Nazis met at Wannsee to discuss the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question”. Anyone who tries to make Nazi comparisons today should read the minutes. The editorial.
NS comparison: Exxpress leadership distances itself from the editor
“We don’t want our editorial team, our entire team, to be burdened with even the slightest suspicion of a possible relativization of National Socialism. We don’t want social democracy to be so falsely accused, we don’t want good friends from social democracy to be offended by tweets. And we will always correct false statements,” the Exxpress statement continued. “We also don’t want editors with this opinion to continue working for us,” explains the management of the tabloid medium and announced the separation of Exxpress from Anna Dobler.
“Ok, wow” was Anna Dobler’s first reaction to her employer’s statement. Exxpress editor-in-chief Richard Schmitt asked her to delete the tweets, Dobler said. “I also expressly refuse to allow myself to be drawn into the vicinity of historical revisionism. My great-grandparents had to give up their trucking company because of the Nazis. I clearly described the Nazis for what they were: murderers,” the journalist replied to her critics.
The debate about her statements about Nazis and socialists was fueled by the left wing, Anna Dobler explained on Twitter. All of this is tantamount to a “public execution”, she complained on Tuesday (January 25, 2022). As a result of the excitement, Dobler says he has received death threats. (ms)
