After FPÖ Scandal Over SS Song at Funeral: FPÖ Lawsuit Against "Standard" Successful

In the view of the judge at the Vienna Regional Court, several articles about the three FPÖ politicians fulfilled the offence of defamation. The plaintiffs were awarded a total compensation of 20,250 euros.

"Der Standard" Appeals After Successful FPÖ Lawsuit

The FPÖ National Council members Harald Stefan and Martin Graf, as well as the Freedom Party club director Norbert Nemeth, defended themselves against the media coverage, which their legal representative Christoph Völk described in the Grey House as "infamous and defamatory". For the "Standard" lawyer Michael Pilz, however, "a true fact was reported". He filed a full appeal against the verdict. Völk did not initially make a statement. The verdict is therefore not legally binding.

The starting point was a funeral of a long-time fraternity member of the "Olympia", who was buried at the Hernalser cemetery on September 27, 2024. At his request, the song "Wenn alle untreu werden" was intoned. A video of this was leaked to the "Standard", which subsequently reported that the FPÖ politicians Graf, Stefan and Nemeth present at the funeral did not leave, even though the so-called SS loyalty song was sung at the open grave.

The Freedom Party justice spokesman Harald Stefan and club director Norbert Nemeth - Martin Graf was not present at the trial, he had excused himself due to illness - emphasized in their witness interviews in the Grey House that the song, originally written as a poem by Max Schenkendorf, is a more than 200-year-old folk and student song. This was written after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. At that time, it was used to "mourn" the defeat against Napoleon and the fall of the empire in 1805/1806. For them, the song has no reference to National Socialism and the SS, which claimed the song for themselves and "misused" it.

FPÖ Politicians Deny SS Song at Funeral

"I have known the song since my student days from songbooks and appreciate it because it stands for 'brotherhood and friendship'", said Stefan, who according to his statements was a member of the fraternity "Olympia" until 2017: "For me, it was never a forbidden song." The claim by the "Standard" that a version of the song altered and used by the SS during the Nazi era was deliberately intoned at the funeral is an insinuation that he rejects: "I would never have sung an altered version to pay homage to anyone." In principle, he would not have attended the funeral at all if he had risked "violating the Nazi Prohibition Act".

"For us, this is a song that celebrates the federal brotherhood," stated the Freedom Party's club director Nemeth, who is a member of the "Olympia" and the "Vandalia". The song has "nothing to do with the Third Reich at all. That is a serious allegation that I reject. It stands for federal brotherhood and lifelong friendship." At the grave, "the version from 1819" was sung.

"Der Standard" had extensively reported on the events at the Hernalser cemetery, and the Vienna public prosecutor's office has been investigating the three FPÖ politicians since the end of December on suspicion of re-engaging in National Socialism in the sense of § 3g Prohibition Act. Apart from that, Stefan, who runs a notary's office in his civilian job, said he had suffered "massive problems, professionally and privately" as a result of the media publications.

First Court Reported "Inaccurate Suspicion Situation"

For the first court, the incriminated articles published in the print edition, online and on the social media accounts of "Der Standard" mostly constituted the offence of defamation. There was an "inaccurate representation of the suspicion situation", Judge Daniel Potmesil stated. From the video played in the courtroom, which documents the singing of the song, it should have been clear that the third verse was omitted and "loyalty" was sung instead of "repentance" at one point - this version was used by the SS. Whether "repentance" or "loyalty" was sung at the grave, however, was "not ascertainable" due to the poor sound quality and the noise of pouring rain, as Potmesil explained. The song "When all become unfaithful" was sung in its entirety. Therefore, "Der Standard" did not succeed in "strengthening" the suspicion that the version altered in the Nazi era had been presented.

Associating someone with National Socialist thought is "a classic dishonorable behavior," the judge noted in the reasoning for the verdict. One does not have to put up with this, "if it is not true."

The first-instance decision was described as a "bitter defeat" for "Der Standard" by FPÖ Secretary General and media spokesman Christian Hafenecker. The newspaper had been "symbolically court-beaten by its own Nazi club". They are looking forward to the legal remedy registered by "Der Standard". "Anyone who wants to make political small change with a hidden camera at an open grave with mourners is of dubious character and miles away from serious journalism," Hafenecker said in a statement.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.