Wiesenthal Center: Bauer Media Group Made the Right Decision by Dropping Controversial Military Magazine

“This is also the right decision at a time when anti-Semitism has reached unprecedented levels in many parts of Europe,”said Center founder and dean

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has praised German media giant, Bauer, for stopping thepublication of Der Landser, a military history magazine that the Center said portrayed Nazi units responsible for numerous atrocities in a favorable light.

In a letter to Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center, Bauer Media Group Executive Board Member Andreas Schoowrote that they took the findings of the Wiesenthal Center’s report on Der Landser, “extremely seriously.” Schoo wrote that Bauer’s Executive Board evaluated “the publication in thecontext of the [Bauer] group' s portfolio strategy and has decided to cease publishing the series.”

“This is a major victory,” said Rabbi Hier, “We believe that Bauer made the right decision to ceasepublication immediately given the seriousness in which the German Government took our overwhelming evidence that Der Landser had in fact crossed the line by portraying members ofthe infamous SS and Tötenkopf units as heroes. Had they not done so, we believe that the German authorities in both the Interior and Justice Ministries would have taken such action ontheir own,” Hier added.

“This is also the right decision at a time when anti-Semitism has reached unprecedented levels in many parts ofEurope,” Rabbi Hier concluded.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families inthe United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament(PARLATINO).