Martin Hohmann | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Hohmann in 2015 | |
| Member of theBundestag forHesse (Fulda; 1998–2005) | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2017 | |
| Constituency | AfD List |
| In office 26 October 1998 – 18 October 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Dregger |
| Succeeded by | Michael Brand |
| Mayor ofNeuhof | |
| In office 1984–1998 | |
| Preceded by | Karl Heimüller |
| Succeeded by | Maria Schultheis(1999) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-02-04)4 February 1948 (age 77) |
| Political party | Alternative for Germany (AfD) (after 2016) Independent (2003-2016) Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) (before 2003) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Martin Hohmann (born 4 February 1948) is a German lawyer and politician of theAfD party. He was a member of the German Parliament ("Bundestag") for the centre-rightChristian Democratic Union (CDU), from 1998 until 2005. From 2017 to 2021, he was again a member of the German Parliament for the AfD.
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He attracted public attention with a speech onGerman Unity Day on 3 October 2003. He set out to repudiate the supposed accusation that during theHolocaust, the Germans were considered a "nation of perpetrators" (German:Tätervolk, a term which was later namedGerman Un-Word of the Year by a jury of linguistic scholars).[1] He alleges involvement of Jews in the 1917Russian Revolution.
Hohmann starts from noting a strong sense of self-contempt among Germans and quotes Hans-Olaf Henkel, the vice president of the Federation of German Industry, who has stated that "Our original sin paralyzes the country". Hohmann thinks that an undue occupation with Germany's past—which he distinguishes from a necessary admission and remembrance of German crimes—lies behind discrimination against fellow-countrymen. Among examples, he mentions the refusal of German government officials to consider demanding compensations by Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic on behalf of forced German labourers inWorld War II, in the same way as Germany pays compensation for those they forced to labor camps.
The speech was delivered to 120 people in his constituency on 3 October. It attracted no attention until it was later found on the internet. This led to a lively debate in public and in the CDU, and after Hohmann refused to retract the speech, he was expelled from theparliamentary group of the CDU in theBundestag in 2003 and from the party itself in 2004. The former decision, however, came only after almost two weeks, on 15 November, raising some concerns that the party did not share the zeal of his critics.[2] CDU MPs voted 195 to 28 (16 abstained) to eject him from the party group, that is 81 percent favored ejection. According toThe Independent, support for free speech was far higher than expected.[3] Hohmann appealed the party decision in court, but his expulsion was upheld. The Kammergericht Berlin ruled that the accusation that Hohmann "supported antisemitic tendencies as his own or in any case facilitated them in parts of the audience by providing facts for such appraisal" was in line with the core statements of the speech.[4]
While most of the German elite was unanimous in condemning Hohmann,[2] the public was much less convinced—polls indicated that equally many opposed the expulsion as those who approved of it (a little over 40 percent in each camp).[5] Although party spokesmen were quick to condemn the speech, some party leaders said in private conversations that Hohmann did not deserve to be expelled.[5] The decision to expel him met severe criticism from party rank-and-files. CDU officials in the Ruhr town ofRecklinghausen joined the protests by displaying a banner from the local party office. It read: "Nobody in Germany is allowed to tell the truth any more".[3]
He kept his seat as an independentmember of parliament until the nextBundestag election of 2005. There, Hohmann ran unsuccessfully for a seat as an independent candidate. He received 21.5% of the votes.
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