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Baking plum cake together with presenter Kai Pflaume sounds harmless at first.

But what then emerged in a video in September 2020 for the channel “Ehrenpflaume” with the YouTubers from “Gewitter im Kopf” is now preoccupying the courts.

Because while Plum pushes the tray with fruit into the oven, one of the YouTubers comments: "In the oven, say hello to Anne Frank for me".

Clearly an anti-Semitic statement, says the Jewish activist and Holocaust descendant Jenny Havemann after seeing excerpts from the video on the TikTok platform.

She became aware of it because excerpts from the program had been spread as a joke on social media, including in the right-wing scene.

Havemann, who campaigns against anti-Semitism, reacted: She referred to the two YouTubers on Twitter as “Nazis”, criticized the unreflective treatment of victims of the National Socialists and thus triggered a debate on social media.

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The whole thing was a few months ago, but now the dispute is going into the next round: Because not the YouTubers should have to answer legally for the statement, but Havemann.

The activist reports on her website that she received an injunction from the Cologne Regional Court because she did not want to delete her tweets on the video.

However, “little addition” would be out of the question for them in this matter.

The problem, however, is that the amount in dispute was set at 20,000 euros, which entails very high court and lawyer fees.

Therefore, ask for donations to pay for the litigation.

Havemann

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In the warning, which WELT is in writing, the opposing lawyer explains the designation "Nazi" as inadmissible abuse criticism for the YouTuber, because right-wing extremist and National Socialist ideas are far from his client.

Because of his illness, he himself was repeatedly a victim of exclusion and stigmatization.

That is why Havemann was asked to remove her tweets about “thunderstorms in my head”.

When asked by WELT, the management of "Thunderstorm in the head" did not want to comment.

YouTuber calls Tourette "Gisela"

In his own words, Havemann actually did not initially know who it was because of a “thunderstorm in the head”.

Behind it are two young men named Jan Zimmermann and Tim Lehmann with Tourette's syndrome, a disease of the nervous system in which those affected cannot control their tics.

According to Jan, he also suffers from epilepsy, coprolalia only appeared at the age of 18.

He gave his Tourette the name "Gisela" to make it clear that what he said was not his own opinion.

In an internet video "A day with ..." he also explains his triggers.

Among other things, he says: “For example here at the synagogue in Cologne, I make sure that I don't walk past, otherwise anti-Semitic noises come out, which is often monitored by the police, and then I also scream the police. "

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With their work, which has meanwhile won awards, Jan and Tim wanted to give their illness a platform.

According to her agency, more than two million people now follow them on various channels.

Another video with a comment about Anne Frank

Havemann, however, does not want to accept that, Tourette is no excuse for anti-Semitic remarks, she said when asked by WELT.

Several psychologists with whom she spoke about it had confirmed that.

In this case, so their criticism, an "absolute victim-perpetrator reversal" takes place.

"A Nazi is someone who says Nazi things," she thought, she also explained on her website.

She also does not primarily criticize the statement because she cannot correctly assess the consequences of the disease.

Rather, she criticizes the fact that Kai Pflaume, who - although he should have heard the statement - did not react.

The sentence about Anne Frank was left completely uncommented, without being properly classified.

"Anyone who has such a reach has a responsibility."

She also wonders why the scene was not cut out directly when the video was post-processed, Havemann said. Before it was uploaded to two platforms for an audience of millions. So it was very possible to avoid saying anything about Anne Frank. In addition, the YouTuber apologized personally to her, but failed to make a public apology. And moreover, it was not the first video of its kind. In fact, there is another clip called “Grandma's bake cookies with Tourette ?!” In it, Jan says after a look at the pastries in the oven: “Oh, there's Anne Frank in there.” - “You shouldn't,” comments his grandmother then.

Kai Pflaume has now responded. The critical scene was deleted from the video after the debate that sparked on the social networks.

In a posting in the comments, the moderator explains why he initially left the statement open: “Ultimately, I decided because it is important to me to document Tourette's syndrome in its entirety and its occurrence as realistically and unadulterated as possible to represent. Evaluating, judging or censoring Jan's tics from my personal point of view would not be the right way for me to deal with his illness. ”The decision to take out one scene afterwards should protect Jan and Tim,“ the way it is do a lot for people with Tourette and contribute to a better understanding of the disease, save them from a discussion that would not do justice to their commitment and commitment ”.

Havemann still wants to keep fighting. The procedural costs of an estimated 10,000 euros were received just one day after the appeal for donations, she told WELT. If she wins, she wants to use the donations that she no longer needs for a good cause: 50 percent should go to projects that fight anti-Semitism, the other 50 percent to those that deal with the consequences of discrimination against Tourette victims To take care of.