The disclosure that the West German DGB Central Trade Union-owned company cooperative is selling the neo-Nazi weekly, “Deutsche National Zeitung” in its stores sparked angry reactions within the DGB today.
Under the headline, “Co-op and Nazis, ” the official trade union newspaper, “Welt Der Arbeit,” sharply criticized the practice and called on the union leadership to take immediate action to stop it.
The cooperative said in a statement that the company, as a business, is politically neutral and sells only written material which has not been banned.
The DGB has been particularly active for many years in combatting any signs of a resurgence of Nazism in West Germany. The trade unions initiated mass demonstrations in Bad Hersfeld a few months ago which led authorities there to ban future meetings of former SS members.
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.