US embassy cable - 03FRANKFURT9873

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 009873 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, GM 
SUBJECT: Hohmann Anti-Semitism Affair Leaves Open Wounds 
 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The CDU's tepid and belated response to 
anti-Semitic remarks by Bundestag member (MdB) Martin 
Hohmann has highlighted enduring nationalist sentiments and 
resentment against Germany's Holocaust burden, and weakened 
leading CDU figure Roland Koch.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) On German Unity Day (Oct. 3), CDU Bundestag member 
Martin Hohmann delivered a speech to two hundred 
constituents in Neuhof (rural Hesse, near Fulda).  In a 
speech with many nationalist themes, Hohmann remarked: 
 
     BEGIN UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION:  "Germans have paid for 
the Holocaust with billions of Euros (...) but I raise the 
provocative question:  Is there a dark side to the Jewish 
people in more recent history, or is the role as victim, 
which we exclusively attribute to Jews, justified?" 
Referring to the participation of Jews in the Russian 
revolution, Hohmann said "... with some justification, 
consider the millions of deaths in the (Bolshevik) 
revolution and raise the question of Jewish complicity ... 
Calling the Jewish people perpetrators (Taetervolk) follows 
the same logic as calling Germans committers of crimes." 
     END TRANSLATED EXCERPT. 
 
3. (SBU) Hohmann's speech did not cause public controversy 
until several weeks later, since no one in the audience 
registered offense.  Hohmann later apologized for the 
remarks, but refused to renounce the speech itself.  NOTE: 
According to consulate sources, the Office for Protection of 
the Constitution (which monitors extremist groups) 
discovered the speech after Horst Mahler, a leading figure 
in the far-right NPD (National Democratic Party), circulated 
Hohmann's text as a model of far-right thinking.  END NOTE. 
 
4. (SBU) The CDU's reaction to the speech was mixed and 
conflicted.  While national CDU leadership quickly condemned 
Hohmann's remarks, Hesse Minister-President / CDU chief 
Roland Koch declared the case closed after the CDU presidium 
resolved to replace Hohmann as Bundestag domestic affairs 
committee spokesman (but leave him in the CDU caucus).  When 
Hohmann persistently refused to renounce the speech, Merkel 
announced that the CDU caucus would exclude Hohmann, and a 
visibly defeated Koch indicated that the Hesse CDU would 
strip Hohmann's party membership. 
 
5. (SBU) On November 14, the CDU Bundestag caucus voted 
behind closed doors to exclude Hohmann from the caucus, 
apparently the first such vote in the party's history. 
Although CDU leadership secured the necessary two-thirds 
majority, media seized on the fact that a fifth of CDU 
deputies refused to censure Hohmann (195 MPs voted for 
expulsion, 28 against, 16 abstentions) as a further sign 
that CDU hardliners are unwilling to part ways with anti- 
Semitist notions. 
 
Grass Roots Support for Hohmann? 
-------------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) Defense Minister Peter Struck (SPD) fired BG 
Reinhard Guenzel, commander of the KSK (Kommando 
Spezialkraefte/Special Forces), for sending a letter to 
Hohmann -- on Bundeswehr letterhead -- praising Hohmann's 
courage and supporting the remarks.  On Nov. 4, DefMin 
Struck censured Guenzel for damaging the reputation of 
Germany and of the military but called the letter the 
isolated opinion of "a confused general who supports an even 
more confused CDU Bundestag deputy."  NOTE: Guenzel later 
threatened to sue Struck for defamation.  Guenzel drew 
headlines and a reprimand in 2001 for warning that Germans 
would face a bloodbath in Afghanistan, but was popular 
within the KSK.  Observers noted the contrast between 
Struck's quick reaction and CDU's waffling.  END NOTE. 
 
7. (SBU) A number of CDU local reps and individual members 
have also voiced support for Hohmann.  Not surprisingly, 
Hohmann has supporters from his home region of rural Hesse. 
CDU MdB Vera Lengsfeld (Thueringen) criticized the alleged 
media campaign against Hohmann.  A handful of CDU city 
assembly members in Hesse (including Frankfurt), Baden- 
Wuerttemberg, and elsewhere declared their support for 
Hohmann.  Media reported that most phones calls to CDU 
headquarters in Berlin were in support of Hohmann.  Even as 
late as November 20, Hohmann spoke at a closed-door local 
CDU assembly in Fulda, where members recommended giving 
Hohmann a second chance. 
 
Jewish Community Reaction 
------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) Moritz Neumann, head of the Jewish community in 
Hesse, described the speech as the worst anti-Semitic 
statement from a German politician in a long time and 
dangerous in that it breaks the taboo of anti-Semitism and 
"relativizes" the Holocaust.  "Hohmann said what many in the 
CDU actually feel."  Neumann asked how someone "with a 
notorious history of making statements against minorities" 
could become responsible for Holocaust compensation issues 
in the CDU caucus.  Many Jews are unhappy with the Hesse 
CDU's handling of the affair and particularly with Koch, who 
has otherwise shown support for Jewish community issues. 
Show of Weakness for Koch 
------------------------- 
 
9. (SBU) The Hohmann affair has damaged Koch politically and 
could continue to hurt the Hesse CDU, since the legal 
process of stripping Hohmann's party membership may take 
months.  In a speech at the Reichspogromnacht (Kristalnacht) 
commemoration in Frankfurt on November 9, Koch had ruled out 
barring Hohmann from the CDU -- prompting audience members 
to boo his comments -- only to find himself overruled by 
Merkel the following day.  In media accounts, Koch appeared 
outmaneuvered by hardliners and by the national CDU, and the 
affair could damage Koch's efforts to present himself as a 
moderate.  Hesse CDU reps told Pol-Econ rep that Hesse 
conservatives are embarrassed and angry at Merkel for having 
"exploited" this opening against Koch. 
 
PASI