Nazi symbolism on the obituary of a prominent member of the Austrian Freemen

SE

8. 1. 2025, 19.20

Updated: 8 January 2025, 20:29

Hans Jorg Schimanek died on December 22 last year at the age of 85. Leader of the Free Austrians (FPÖ) Herbert Kickl described him as “humble and down-to-earth”, the deputy governor of Lower Austria Udo Landbauer however, he praised him as an “exceptional personality”.

In his political career, Schimanek was the first regional councilor of the FPÖ in Lower Austria from 1993 to 1999, a member of the regional parliament until 2000, and also the chairman of the FPÖ party Lower Austria from 1998 to 2000. He was expelled from the party in 2005, but last year ran again as a member of the regional assembly on the list of independents.

Died “suddenly and unexpectedly”

Schimanek died “suddenly and unexpectedly”. Like that according to the magazine “profile” it says on the obituary of the 85-year-old, a quote under it “…and the glory of the dead live forever”, which is often used in obituaries in far-right circles, but it originates from Germanic myths of the 13th century.

Behind the quote was a symbol that is not common on obituaries. It is the so-called Irminsul; an early medieval Germanic column-shaped shrine appropriated by the Nazis and also considered a symbol of a pseudo-research institution SS paramilitary organizations “Deutsches Ahnenerbe”, also known as “SS-Ahnenerbe”. The institution played a key role in the Nazi theft of art and the execution of brutal human experiments in concentration camps.

He is remembered in his obituary by his family and relatives, including his grandchildren George in Jörnomwhich made the headlines of several Austrian newspapers last November after high-profile raids in Germany and Poland on suspicion of links to far-right groups.

People’s party in government with free people?

Meanwhile, the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has accepted the invitation of the leader of the Freelancers Kickl to the negotiations on the future ruling coalition, the leader of the ÖVP announced today Christian Stocker. During his press conference, strangers painted the party’s headquarters in Vienna with graffiti. “ÖVP stinks of brown shit,” it was written on a building next to the Vienna City Hall. The brown color symbolizes Nazism.

Former leader of the ÖVP Karl Nehammerwho resigned after unsuccessful coalition talks with the Social Democrats and the liberal Neos party, and many other party representatives ruled out the possibility of cooperation with Kickl before the elections last September. The presidency of the Liberals gave the green light for talks with the popular party on Tuesday evening, after which Kickl called Stocker on the phone.

Stocker emphasized today that the ÖVP tried to form the first three-party coalition in Austria with the SPÖ and Neos, but it failed. The fact that he is the federal president Alexander Van der Bellen Kickl’s task of forming the government changed the political situation in the country, he said, explaining why he agreed to talk with the leader of the Liberals.