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The Hamburg author of children's and young people's books, Kirsten Boie, has rejected the German Language Association's language prize because of right-wing populist statements by Federal Chairman Walter Krämer.

“There is talk of the“ lying press ”, even of the“ current opinion terror of our largely left-wing lying press ”;

of the "foreign infiltration of the German language", of the "gender madness", wrote the 70-year-old in a letter of rejection.

"But even more than the abbreviated and unrealistic notion of language that is revealed in many utterances, I am shocked by how precisely it fits into their argumentation at a time when we are worried about a shift to the right in parts of the population “, It continues.

Boie is Hamburg's honorary citizen

Because, in her opinion, the Hamburg regional association had not publicly distanced itself from Kramer's statements, she no longer wanted to accept the award, the Elbe Swan Order.

Boie has been an honorary citizen of Hamburg for almost a year.

The order of the regional group was originally supposed to be awarded on November 25th.

According to its own information, the association honors people and institutions in the Hamburg region every year “who have made a special contribution to the maintenance and promotion of the German language”.

"We are sad"

The regional manager of the regional association was disappointed by the cancellation: "We are very saddened by it," said Hans Kaufmann on Tuesday.

Regarding the statements of the federal chairman mentioned by Boie, he said: “These are of course polemical exaggerations, whereby there is always a factual core behind them.

But that's not our Hamburg style.

We have never used such formulations, ”said the 79-year-old.

“I don't agree with him.

I gave him personal advice on this, ”said the former head of a Hamburg high school.

In addition, he expressly distances himself from right-wing extremist positions.

Association is against "Genderdeutsch"

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Among other things, the association campaigns against language regulations imposed by politics, such as gender German, because it "leads to strange, cumbersome contortions and damages our language".

He feels it is painful “that you no longer speak to people who have a different opinion”.

The undoped prize, a crystal swan, will not be awarded this year.

According to Kaufmann, the Hamburg association has around 400 members.

Worldwide there are 36,000.