German college instructor accused of spreading Nazi ideology among students
A small German town was shocked to learn that an instructor at a local vocational school has allegedly been spreading Nazi ideology among his students. The man reportedly encouraged the trainees to learn Nazi songs and slogans.
The scandal broke after a student at the college in the Bavarian town of Dietfurt an der Altmuehl secretly filmed the instructor encouraging the students, some of whom were underage, to shout Nazi slogans and sing Nazi songs banned in Germany. The video taken in late January was obtained by police.
The footage allegedly shows a group of students sitting together with the instructor in the college billiard hall, drinking beer and smoking. The instructor begins asking the students about their places of birth and then urges them to shout Nazi slogans, according to Bavarian Radio, which obtained parts of the video.
On other occasions, the same instructor was shown singing the so-called Horst Wessel song – a hymn of the Nazi party, banned in Germany – and calling on the students to join him. The video also shows him telling anti-Semitic and homophobic jokes. According to Bavarian Radio, the man even attempted to impersonate Adolf Hitler. He shouted such slogans as “Foreigners, out you go!” and “Sieg Heil!”
The college management said it was shocked at deeply concerned by the incident. “That is the lowest possible level [of behavior] … even lower than that,” Richard Herbst, the acting chairman of the educational center’s executive board and the head of the local chimney sweepers’ union, told Bavarian Radio. “That just cannot be.” He said he can’t even bring himself to look at the footage.
The school management confirmed the man in the video is indeed one of the college instructors. They “immediately reacted” to the incident and suspended the instructor, banning him from the premises, according to Die Welt daily.
The college also lodged a complaint against the instructor with police, who have launched a criminal investigation. In the meantime, the local chimney sweepers’ union announced plans to exclude him from its ranks.
Police said they “cannot yet say anything” about the case as the investigation is still ongoing. The man himself also refused to issue any comments on the matter to the German media. His lawyer said the instructor has distanced himself from the incident and harbors “no affection for the right-wing ideology.”
