Next Likely Chancellor Of Austria Called ‘Baby Hitler’

An image tweeted out by the satirical magazine Titanic. Image by TITANIC

By Ari Feldman October 17, 2017

A German satirical magazine is under investigation after tweeting an image of Sebastian Kurz, an Austrian politician, with crosshairs over his heart next to the words, “Finally possible: Kill baby Hitler,” Politico.eu reported. The tweet was sent out by the magazine Titanic a day after Kurz’s party, the People’s Party, one the most vote in Austria’s parliamentary election. Kurz is likely to be the next chancellor of Austria.

The election has put many observers on edge because analysts say it is likely that Kurz will form a governing coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, which garnered nearly a quarter of the votes in Sunday’s election.

“We would like to acknowledge that in the case of this joke, there was a problematic crossing of boundaries — namely to Austria, where they are obviously not so nonchalant about their own Nazi past as we good, reformed Germans are,” Tim Wolff, Titanic’s editor, told a German-language newspaper.

Wolff said that Austrian authorities had not contact him, though the magazine tweeted that they had been contacte by the “Vienna department for time travel.”

The tweet appears to be a reference to a thought experiment that is popular in Germany and Austria: if you could travel back in time, would you kill Hitler as an infant?

Contact Ari Feldman at feldman@forward.com or on Twitter @aefeldman.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at feldman@forward.com. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO