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Simmel branch in Dresden: “I also don’t agree with our current government and hope for new elections.”
Photo: Sven Ellger / IMAGO
Hearty dishes can be seen: The brochures that the Simmel store chain published a few days ago for its 20 markets in Saxony and Thuringia advertise, among other things, Jagdwurst, crackers with caraway or potato soup with Vienna sausages - and something else: » For democracy - against Nazis" it says in red and white over a salad. The management was obviously inspired by the protests in the country against right-wing extremism and wanted to support them.
Today the brochure can no longer be seen on the pages of Edeka-Kaufleute - instead there is a strange apology there: He is sorry "that my term 'Nazis' addressed people who do not agree with our current government «, writes entrepreneur Peter Simmel. In his understanding, Nazis were "right-wing radicals who want to abolish our democracy, glorify the Hitler era and want to return to such an inhumane system."
You read this and think: Yes, what else? But apparently some people see it differently: "Through the exchange with our customers, I learned that many more people identify with the word Nazi than I thought," writes Simmel. This is probably because these people were “hasty to be pigeonholed as Nazis” in the past. Just because you are against the current government, "of course you are not automatically a Nazi." He asks for forgiveness from the people he hurt.
The letter leaves many questions unanswered. One would like to know how it is possible for a person to identify with the word Nazi without thinking of themselves as one. It is also not discussed whether Simmel still stands by the slogan “For democracy – against Nazis” or whether, in his opinion, there is suddenly something wrong with it.
But above all, you ask yourself: What happened?
The supermarket operator's statement provides no further information than the ominous phrase "exchange with our customers." The company could not initially be reached for comment, and a SPIEGEL query remained unanswered until Friday evening. However, a look at social media gives an idea of the pressure that must have preceded this publication. On the company's Facebook page, you can still read a large number of well-known keywords from the conspiracy-believing discourse in comments under the retailer's messages.
The events surrounding the supermarket owner and his giving in also caused reactions in politics. The CDU member of the Bundestag and former federal government representative for the East, Marco Wanderwitz, wrote on , show him: “You feel addressed.”
Sol