The event by Daniele Ganser on March 29 in Offenbach caused displeasure with an initiative. In an open letter to the city, she demands that the performance be canceled.
The self-proclaimed peace researcher Daniele Ganser is scheduled to appear on March 29 in the Offenbach town hall. The controversial Swiss is currently stopping in several cities with his lecture “Why did war break out in Ukraine?”. His appearances in Dortmund and Nuremberg have been canceled. In Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart, the pressure on the city and the mayor is also growing.
Ganser is also scheduled to appear in Offenbach in March. Now the Offenbach initiative “Offenbach Solidarity” has spoken and has written an open letter to the city. It states that the Stadthalle Offenbach is the third largest event hall in the Rhine-Main area. “It is to be expected from such a large event institution that they take a look in advance at who they are offering a stage to. There are also warnings and protests from other cities such as Innsbruck and Dortmund before the events of Ganser and his fans.”
The group also writes that Ganser has been spreading a conspiracy for years. He twists the facts about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and put forward crude theories about US foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. “His alleged criticism repeatedly carries implicit anti-Semitic references.” In Offenbach, parts of the city center are repeatedly smeared with anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi slogans. “For the fight against anti-Semitism, it is not enough to show solidarity with victims after anti-Semitic graffiti, rather the public space must be withdrawn from the apologists of anti-Semitic propaganda,” said the group.
City of Offenbach is against censorship
The city of Offenbach had already dealt with the event before the open letter, spokesman Fabian El-Cheikh told t-online. There will be no ban on Ganser’s appearance in Offenbach. El-Cheikh justifies the decision by saying that the Stadthalle is used “on the basis of equal treatment and is therefore non-discriminatory”. Every booking request for the Stadthalle is subject to uniform evaluation criteria. “The police are actively asking whether there are criminal or constitutional indications that are taken into account in the decision to accept or reject the offer. When we asked, we were not informed of any such indications against Mr. Ganser,” explains El-Cheikh.
Despite everything, Ganser’s appearance was not desired by the city of Offenbach. Nevertheless, the city will not exercise any censorship or restrictions on freedom of expression, El-Cheikh continued. “On the basis of our free-democratic constitution, theses and expressions of opinion must also be tolerated that the majority of the population and the city itself reject or find intolerable.” However, Ganser’s appearance will not be advertised by the Stadthalle, as is usual for events.
