“Ossis are communists or fascists”: Lek gets the image boss in trouble

It never gets quiet around the German Springer group, that makes the impression. No matter how loud the newspaper “Bild” sounds, the people who run the group are probably just as shrill.

The most famous example: ex-“Bild” boss Julian Reichelt. In the end he had to leave the field with drums and trumpets because he allegedly exploited his position and slept with women under his command. He denies wrongdoing to this day.

But Axel Springer boss Mathias Döpfner also repeatedly makes questionable statements. For example, during the corona pandemic, he proclaimed Reichelt the last steadfast journalist who did not “rise against the new authoritarian state of the GDR”.

Now even more insights into Döpfner’s interior have come to light. “Zeit” has evaluated internal documents revealing Döpfner’s thinking. The e-mails and chat messages were probably leaked to the weekly magazine from the entrepreneur’s environment.

Döpfner probably wanted to influence the federal elections

The documents show, among other things, that Döpfner wanted to influence the 2021 federal election – in favor of the FDP. The “Zeit” quotes an internal message from August 2021: “Only if the [die FDP, Anm. d. Red.] becomes very strong – and it can – the green-red disaster is prevented. That’s all we can do for them.”

A few weeks before the election, Döpfner became clearer again: whether more could be done for the FDP. “They should get at least 16 percent.” Immediately before the election, a message to former “Bild” boss Reichelt:

News provides insight into the worldview of the media mogul

But it is not only the attempts to influence and the “upgrading” of the FDP that draw Döpfner down. The “Zeit” also leaks messages that provide insight into Döpfner’s inner conviction.

For example, Döpfner spoke out in favor of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to former US President Donald Trump – and removing his prize from Obama. Döpfner’s reason for the award: Trump had Iranian General Qasem Soleimani assassinated. Soleimani was part of an elite Revolutionary Guards unit that conducted special operations abroad.

In 2017, Döpfner is said to have self-identified as a climate change advocate. That doesn’t mean he believes climate change exists, but that he thinks global warming is awesome. “Civilization phases of heat were always more successful than those of cold,” quotes the “Zeit”.

Döpfner’s assessment of Corona was similarly skewed. And especially the associated measures. These would destroy open society forever. The weekly quotes Axel Springer’s boss: “This is the end of the market economy. And the beginning of 33.” The 33 could represent the year 1933 – the Nazi seizure of power.

The East Germans are not doing well either. According to “Zeit”, Döpfner says: “The ossis are either communists or fascists. In between they don’t. Horrible.”

According to “Zeit,” the Axel Springer Group has so far left a catalog of questions unanswered. Döpfner is also not ready for a conversation.