The contents of a magazine published by a leading Austrian sports organization fits the definition of fascist, a Vienna press court decided last week. The ruling ended a two-year libel suit brought by the Oesterreichischer Turnerbund (OETB) against the Communist daily Volkstimme for labeling the magazine, Bundesturnzeitung, a neo-fascist publication. The OETB is one of the three largest sports clubs in the country.
The court stated that the magazine not only propagates nationalistic ideas but can reasonably be called outright fascist. The court defined fascism as the principle of absolute leadership rejection of parliamentary democracy militarism; racism; and nationalism.
In several issues, the Bundesturnzeitung published reviews of books that tried to excuse Nazi crimes, make Nazi war criminals appear as martyrs and accused the Allied nations of cruel and unjust acts during World War II. Several articles in the magazine glorified Nazi military leaders and political personalities of the Third Reich, the court said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
