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Oktoberfest in Saxony: Investigations into the initial suspicion of the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations (symbolic image)
Photo: Noah Wedel / Kirchner-Media / IMAGO
On X, formerly Twitter, a video is making the rounds in which several people can be seen celebrating and singing at an Oktoberfest celebration – and apparently showing the Hitler salute several times. A user published the 16-second clip and located the scenes after Zieschütz in the district of Bautzen. The Saxony police responded to the post on the platform ; the video had been secured and forwarded to the responsible police department.
At the festivities, visitors apparently sing along to the marching song »Erika« – a song by the Nazi composer Herms Niel, which was particularly popular during the Second World War and was used for Nazi propaganda. Unlike the Hitler salute, however, the lyrics are not forbidden.
A spokesman for the responsible police department in Görlitz told SPIEGEL that the initial suspicion of the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations was being investigated. The state security was involved in the investigation.
The "Bild" newspaper quoted the organizer of the Oktoberfest: "We clearly distance ourselves from such visitors, just want to celebrate a normal Oktoberfest." In the future, there will also be no Wehrmacht marching music, according to »Bild«.
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