A trainee elementary school teacher has been suspended in Germany after it came to light that she had previously worked as an anchor for a media outlet deemed by the authorities as far-right and pro-Kremlin, Bild has reported. A regional educational official argued that the woman’s “anti-constitutional views” were incompatible with her job as an educator.
The Bild report on Wednesday alleged that Elisa B. had worked as a teacher in the Markisch-Oderland district of eastern Brandenburg region since February. However, aside from that, the 29-year-old is said to have been the face of a local TV channel named Strausberg TV, and had also worked for Compact TV in the recent past.
The latter is considered by the German security services to be a peddler of “Kremlin propaganda and conspiracy theories,” and is said to “stir hatred against the government, Muslim and Jewish organizations.” The authorities believe that the media outlet is working against Germany’s “free democratic constitutional order.”
While the security services typically keep tabs on all Compact TV employees, Elisa B. had managed to slip under the radar for at least a year, using a wig and a false name, Bild claimed.
It is only after striking similarities between Compact TV presenter 'Anna' and Strausberg TV presenter 'Elisa' were noticed; their eyes, nose, and even birthmarks, that the newspaper Tagesspiegel made the suspicions public.
Following the report, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution notified the Education Ministry in July of the woman’s track record.
According to Bild, education officials initially refused to relieve the teacher of her duties. However, journalists subsequently contacted Brandenburg’s state secretary for education, Claudia Zinke, inquiring about the decision to retain the teacher.
Zinke consequently ordered the “immediate release from duties” of the woman, saying that her “anti-constitutional views are not tolerated in the teaching profession.”