In a televised duel with Thuringian CDU leader Mario Voigt, Höcke tried to justify himself because he had previously used the slogan “All for Germany”. Therefore, he had listed a few cases where others had allegedly also used the slogan of the NSDAP Storm Section (SA).
Telekom will take legal action against Höcke
“Björn Höcke's statement is false,” a Telekom spokesperson told FOCUS. “We will forward this to our attorneys and immediately send a cease and desist request to Mr. Höcke.”
According to Telekom, this is not the first case where the AfD makes a false claim to Telekom. AfD leader Alice Weidel made the same claim in October 2023. According to the company's spokesperson, it had agreed to refrain from filing a claim in the future.
Höcke, who is on trial in Halle an der Saal next week for using the SA slogan, referred to Donald Trump's campaign slogan in a televised duel. Höcke said he translated the former US president's work “America First” into German in a free interpretive way.
Björn Höcke: “I messed something up”
Höcke has now responded to Telekom's legal threat and admitted the mistake. “I mixed something up, Telekom actually used the slogan 'To each his own', which is displayed above the entrance gate to the Buchenwald concentration camp,” Höcke said in response to an online inquiry by FOCUS.
In fact, Telekom once used this slogan in its advertisement years ago, as reported by n-tv. Accordingly, it was apparently used unknowingly by copywriters, as a company spokesperson told the media in February 2001. The Hamburg advertising agency responsible also apologized.
Höcke claims that he was not aware of any connection with the SA
When asked if he did not know during the speech that the statement was an SA slogan, the leader of Thuringia's AfD claimed in a televised duel: “No, I did not know.” This is a common saying. However, since Höcke is a history teacher, the slogan might have sounded familiar to him.
In addition to Telekom, Höcke attributed the use of the slogan to Ludwig II of Bavaria and Franz Beckenbauer. However, Beckenbauer's quote was taken out of context: The former soccer player and coach said before the national team's match against the USA: “I expect the team to give everything for Germany. Full steam ahead!” Moreover, this statement was not used by Ludwig II, but rather by Ludwig I of Bavaria – in 1848, before the Nazi era. Höcke also made numerous false statements in the duel broadcast by Welt-TV.
The slogan “Everything for Germany” is prohibited according to the Criminal Code (section 86 subsection 1 no. 4 in conjunction with section 86a subsection 1 subsection 1). It is considered a hallmark of the former National Socialist organization.