Severe criticism of ZDF boss: “She compares AfD election victory with Hitler’s World War”

Elections were held in Thuringia and Saxony on Sunday – and the polls had already attracted massive attention in advance. The strong performance of the AfD and BSW in the state elections in the east had long been expected.

It is therefore no wonder that people were very interested, with millions of people watching the public broadcasters' coverage: ZDF alone had an average reach of 2.19 million between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., which was enough for a 15 percent market share among the total audience and 11.9 percent among 14- to 49-year-olds.

According to industry service DWDL, the “heute” news then again provided a significant boost to viewing. And so millions also saw the opinion piece by ZDF editor-in-chief Bettina Schausten – but her comment polarized the audience. It also caused a stir on social media the day after the elections.

Right at the beginning, she draws a comparison that not everyone likes: “On September 1, 1939, the Second World War began with the Wehrmacht's attack on Poland. Germany brought suffering and death to the whole world, murdering six million Jews.”

Schausten continued: “On September 1, 2024, 85 years to the day, a party that is proven to be right-wing extremist will become the strongest force in the German federal state of Thuringia, with a candidate at the helm who talks like a fascist and can also be called one.”

This is “hard to bear,” says the ZDF editor-in-chief. She speaks of a “political milestone and a warning to future generations,” but also points out that the majority of voters in Thuringia who voted for the AfD are “not neo-Nazis.”

ZDF commentary on state elections: reactions are mixed

The reactions to the comment were very mixed: Under the ZDF YouTube contribution, for example, it says: “The intro compares the AfD's election victory with Hitler's World War, which killed 80 million people? Seriously?”, some relativize the Holocaust.

“This report is hard to bear,” says another viewer. “Comparing the start of the war with the result of a democratically run state election is pretty crazy,” says another.

Schausten comment split

The editor-in-chief of “Welt” Ulf Poschardt is also outraged and shares a clip of the video with the words “is this real?” on X.

Others, on the other hand, find the opinion piece appropriate, write on X “Very good comment” or ask what is wrong with Schausten’s explanation.

One thing is certain: According to the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty, public broadcasters are obliged to provide balanced coverage. However, opinion pieces and commentaries are also an integral part of their reporting repertoire – and part of a democracy.

By Martin Gätke