Several tens of thousands of people took to the streets against the AfD at the weekend and there is also great online horror at the deportation fantasies of right-wing extremists that were uncovered last Wednesday. The Correctiv research center had Details of a meeting in a Potsdam villa revealed,
in which high-ranking AfD politicians, neo-Nazis and financially strong entrepreneurs took part in November last year and resulted in the expulsion of millions of people Germany had planned. They called it “remigration,” a euphemistic term for the deportation of any people who do not conform to AfD ideological German. The expression has now been voted “unword of the year” by linguists.
The details of this meeting were so inhumane that top entrepreneurs now feel called upon to to take a clear position against racism and the AfD. An unusually large number of them are even speaking out on the social platform Linkedin – a turnaround for the otherwise apolitical network, which in recent years has served more as self-congratulation for many managers.
Executives from Evonik, Deutsche Bahn and Daimler speak out
One of the political voices that is becoming louder is Jörg Kathenbach, Head of Foreign Trade at Evonik Industries. He writes: “No politics on Linkedin? Otherwise I like to stick to that. However, the current, far too long-lasting development and the unspeakable excesses that have taken place in the spectrum of right-wing extremist parties should wake us all up together. Everyone should publicly share their position, no longer quietly, but loudly. Everywhere.”
Something similar comes from Carmen Maria Parrino, Managing Director for Local Transport Sales at Deutsche Bahn. “As Democrats, we have a duty to stand up, take a stand and be loud,” said the manager.
Volker Hasenberg, Manager International Hydrogen Strategy Daimler comments: “I am stunned by such activities and (…) by the fact that the AfD is increasingly blatantly adopting Nazi ideas without it apparently harming its popularity.”
It remains quiet at the top
The CEOs of the DAX companies, on the other hand, remain silent; they have not yet spoken out on the topic on Linkedin. One of the few was Timotheus Höttges (61), CEO of Deutsche Telekom. “Many people with a migrant background work at Telekom. You do a lot for our company. And they do a lot for our country. You belong to us,” he wrote on the platform.
Even the ten largest Linkedin influencers, including Carsten Maschmeyer (64), have not yet made any contributions. But while many influential profiles are yawning empty when it comes to right-wing extremism, others are even more vocal about it. The Rossmann family and numerous employees of the drugstore chain of the same name were among the few entrepreneurs who had positioned themselves against right-wing radicals and the AfD in the network before the Correctiv revelations. Raoul Roßmann (39), who followed in the footsteps of his father Dirk Roßmann (77) in the family-run drugstore chain as managing director, wrote: “There are moments when you have to show your attitude. We all have a voice and should use it from time to time.”
The managing director and founder of RatePAY, Miriam Wohlfahrt, also expressed herself clearly before the Correctiv publication: “It is important not to remain silent and to use every opportunity to clearly raise our voices and represent clear points of view – even the smallest ones Groups,” wrote the series founder. In her statement, Wohlfahrt referred to the election forecasts for the federal election, in which the AfD would currently get 22 percent of the vote.
Hans im Glück separates from Limmer
The plans uncovered by Correctiv also included some names of entrepreneurs who were said to have been involved in organizing the meeting. These include Hans-Christian Limmer, founder of the bakery chain “Backwerk” and partner in the burger chain Hans im Glück and the delivery service Pottsalat. According to the research, he signed some of the invitations for the meeting.
Limmer himself stayed away from the meeting and later denied any involvement in the content. He initially signed a number of invitations from the organizer without first engaging sufficiently with the speakers named there, but then distanced himself from them several times, as he explained to the magazine “Capital”.
His companies nevertheless drew clear conclusions. “Hans im Glück” announced that it had accepted an offer from Limmer to immediately give up his partnership status. The entrepreneur also withdrew as a partner from Pottsalat. According to Pottsalat boss Ben Küstner, Limmer will also sell his shares. The necessary legal preparations have already begun.
Outrage at the German Language Association
In addition to these two companies, there were also disagreements at the German Language Association (VDS). There, board member Silke Schröder resigned after she called for the “remigration” of unwanted journalists on Twitter. Correctiv’s research also revealed that Schröder was said to have been involved in organizing the meeting in Potsdam.
more on the subject
While the revealed “secret plan against Germany” about the participants and their plans to deport people with a migrant background caused outrage across Germany, the AfD appeared sober. The social policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group, René Springer, quickly made it clear that the plan to deport millions of people was not a secret, but a promise “to preserve our identity. For Germany”. One more reason to rebel against it on Linkedin too.