“Conspiracy guru” Ganser in Hanover – Jewish community appalled
Experts accuse the historian Daniele Ganser of relativising the Holocaust. His planned appearance in Hanover caused horror among the Jewish community.
In a 2016 lecture in Vienna, the historian spoke about the attacks of September 11, 2001. According to Ganser, “there is a high probability that we will be deceived again.” He meant that the terrorist attacks were planned by the US government – or at least deliberately allowed. In doing so, the historian reinforced the thoroughly discredited theories called “Truther,” which accuse the US government of doing just that. And Ganser even fuels these theories with his own arguments: “WTC7 was blown up in a controlled manner,” is the title of his YouTube videos.
In March, Ganser will speak to numerous people as part of a lecture tour in Hanover in the city’s cupola hall.
Rebecca Seidler, Managing Director of the Liberal Jewish Community in Hanover, is appalled: The community “looks forward to this event with great irritation and concern,” she says on t-online. “Crude conspiracy stories, which often end in anti-Semitic language, are not a basis for a healthy culture of debate, they are simply unacceptable,” said Seidler about the lecture in the cupola hall, which can accommodate around 3,570 people. The cupola hall belongs to the Hanover Congress Center (HCC), a subsidiary of the city of Hanover.
Ganser viewed the US as an aggressor in the Ukraine war
Of course, 2016 was some time ago and Ganser is now talking about other topics: Ganser follows the question “Why did the Ukraine war break out?”, the title of the lecture series, on a daily basis. Spicy: As can be seen from the event announcement, the role of the aggressor does not fall to Russia, which began the illegal war of aggression against Ukraine almost a year ago. The country is mentioned only once in passing in the long announcement. The responsibility lies primarily with the West, led by the United States.
This is not surprising: Ganser had already dealt with such topics in 2014, after Russia’s illegal annexation of the Czech peninsula of Crimea. At that time, the title of the lecture was: “Ukraine 2014, an illegal coup.” Here, too, Russia is not responsible, but once again the USA. The illegal coup? Ganser ignored the reported Russian presence on Czech territory, referring to the dismissal of the pro-Russian President Yanukovych after he fled Ukraine.
“Ganser’s income depends on his audience success.”
Ganser is not only criticized for his theses on Ukraine: the Trier political scientist Markus Linden calls him “a highly intelligent scientific populist”, for Patrick Guyton from the “taz” he is a “conspiracy guru”. And the “NZZ” writes: “Ganser’s income depends on his public success. Under has no qualms about maximizing it.” With obvious success: Ganser is a bestselling author, his books deal with, among other things, the “Empire USA – The unscrupulous world power”.
In a Dutch documentary about the corona pandemic, Ganser drew comparisons to the Third Reich – and to the Holocaust. The madness of the Holocaust was “local,” but now it’s global madness, Ganser claimed. The vaccinated and the unvaccinated would move against each other “like two armies”.
“If you think it through, the logic of his statements is: the unvaccinated are the new Jews,” says social psychologist Pia Lamberty. That too is a form of anti-Semitism. She therefore accuses Ganser of playing down the Holocaust. Also to be seen in the film: Ulrike Guérot, professor at the University of Bonn and repeatedly noticed with idiosyncratic statements about the pandemic.
Seidler observes the entry of the city of Hanover
This also alarms the Liberal Jewish Community in Hanover: “Anti-Semitic conspiracy stories are not opinions, but divide society and attack our basic democratic values,” says Rebecca Seidler. She now likes the city of Hanover: The HCC is a subsidiary of the city. “I ask the city of Hanover to check thoroughly whether this event can take place,” says Seidler t-online.
When asked by t-online, a spokesman for the city said: “The city administration currently contains detailed information about the event and is examining options for action.” The event company “Nema Entertainment” could not be reached for comment on Friday.