As polling for Austria’s parliamentary elections is afoot, a music with a German history, performed at a death in Vienna on Friday, caused a major public backlash.
Members of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria ( FPÖ ) including Martin Graf, Harald Stefan, and Norbert Nemeth, attended the funeral where the song” Wenn alle untreu werden” ( When All Become Unfaithful ) was performed. This song, dating back to 1814, became popular during the Nazi era and was used by the Nazi Schutzstaffel ( SS) as a” song of loyalty”.
Der Standard, an Austrian paper, posted a picture of people singing the song near a grave at the cemetery. A phrase appears in the lyrics that means “want to speak and talk of the divine German Reich.”
The FPÖ, whose members are noticeable in the film, argued that the film was being politically abused, saying, as quoted by Deutsche Welle,” People were politically abusing the picture of a private woman’s cremation, over which the FPÖ had no influence anymore”.
The FPO, founded by previous Nazis, is in a strong competition with the ruling liberals for success in Sunday’s vote, which would indicate a historic succeed.
Austria’s Israeli Kids ‘ Union reported the incident to lawyers, describing it as an “alarm message for Austria”.
Political events from all political parties have expressed disapproval of the event. Justice secretary Alma Zadic of the Green Party was quoted by Deutsche Welle, saying,” The FPÖ is once again proving that it is right-wing radical”. Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party ( ÖVP ) supported these concerns, saying that the far-right party is showing “its radicalised face”. Both the Social Democrats ( SPÖ ) and the liberal NEOS expressed similar disapproval.
