“Sorry for Nazism”
German Embassy condemns Chilean newspaper for articles about Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring was sentenced to death in the Nuremberg war criminals trials. There was nothing to be read about his atrocities in the article in “Mercurio”.
© Uncredited / DPA
He was chief of the air force, number 2 in the Nazi state, and a convicted war criminal. A Chilean newspaper has apparently forgotten all of this and paints a different picture of Hermann Göring. Many places were shocked.
The German embassy in Chile has condemned the country’s largest right-wing conservative newspaper for an article about the war criminal Hermann Göring. The newspaper “El Mercurio” published in its Sunday edition on the 75th anniversary of Göring’s death an illustrated piece about the former head of the Air Force in the Third Reich and traced his career. The title of the article read: “Hermann Göring – the successor of Hitler”.
The German embassy reacts with clear words
It was noticeable that Göring’s war crimes and his function in the Nazi regime received little attention. The article focused much more on his merits and his “successful” military career.
The German embassy in Chile responded to the article with clear words. On Twitter she wrote: “It is not customary for the embassy to comment publicly on newspaper articles. We just want to make it very clear: This figure, H. Göring, has committed crimes against humanity and was one of the pillars of the Nazi regime.”
It would not leave the slightest leeway to morally and politically justify or minimize its shameful role in the Nazi regime and in the Holocaust – and much less legally.
As reported by the British newspaper “The Guardian”, the organization of the Jewish community in Chile described the article as “unacceptable” and an “excuse for Nazism”.
The newspaper responded to the accusation of a “direct affront” against the victims of the Holocaust with a short biref in which it “deeply regrets” that the article was interpreted as such.
“El Mercurio” is still an important leading medium in Chile
“El Mercurio” has an eventful history. It is the oldest newspaper in the world in Spanish and is still considered the most important leading medium in Chile today. It was founded in 1827 and has taken an extremely conservative stance ever since.
According to “Deutschlandfunk Kultur”, this was particularly evident during the socialist government of Salvador Allende in Chile between 1970 and 1973.
The newspaper printed a Nazi portrait as early as May
Accordingly, the newspaper reported positively about the fascist coup by Augusto Pinochet and the subsequent military regime. In retrospect it became clear that “El Mercurio” had received major financial support from the US secret service CIA. The CIA even mentioned the newspaper in a memorandum, insisting that it played a major role in preparing for Pinochet’s 1973 military coup.
As early as May of this year, the newspaper had published an obituary for a Nazi great. Under the heading “The Peace Mission of Nazi Rudolf Hess” (La “misión de paz” del Nazi Rudolf Hess), the paper portrayed the convicted National Socialist Rudolf Hess.
Sources: The Guardian, Tweet German Embassy, Deutschlandfunk culture, El Mercurio