‘Antisemitic hate is part of our daily lives’ says German student leader

The former head of Germany’s national Jewish student union has spoken out after receiving a chilling neo-Nazi hate letter, and warned that Jewish student leaders have become used to antisemitic abuse and that the far right is gaining ground across Germany.

Hanna Esther Veiler, 27, a social work student at Heidelberg University, opened the letter earlier this week after checking her former Union of Jewish Students in Germany (JSUD) mailbox. Inside was a printed note wishing her a “Happy Holocaust”, alongside antisemitic slurs and sexual threats.

The note, printed in a cursive font, read: “Oh Hanna you are very sweet judensau very sweet judensau. Letsa go to Auschwitz und have a party for happy holocaust. Happy holocaust. Oh hanna I want to f**k ya 3 nights long for happy holocaust.” [sic]

Her surname and the phrase “Heil Hitler” were scrawled in block capitals by hand, and a four-page screed filled with far-right slogans and neo-Nazi imagery was attached.

The material has since been handed over to German authorities and is under investigation.

Veiler received the hatemail earlier this month (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]

Veiler, who served as president of the JSUD until March and is a vice president of the European Union of Jewish Students, told the JC the letter is a stark reminder of the abuse targeted towards Jewish student leaders, who she said have become desensitised to receiving this kind of hate.

Speaking from an undisclosed location in Germany – Veiler avoids publicising where she lives due to safety concerns – she said: “This kind of antisemitic hate has become a part of our daily lives… Jews and Jewish students are traumatised to an extent where we have gotten used to this.”

“A year ago, I received a letter that was three pages long and laid out how the writer would love to send me to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. So [the recent letter] is nothing new for me, or for my friends who are doing this kind of work, no matter if you live in Germany or elsewhere.”

When Veiler opened the latest letter and read its contents, she said: “I felt very distant; it didn't make me sad, it didn't make me angry. It is nothing new, I am pretty good at distancing myself from it.”

She chose not to read the entire four-page document, instead forwarding it to the authorities. In Germany, public displays of Nazi symbols or slogans are illegal.

Veiler shared an image of the note with her 23,000 Instagram followers but said she had mixed feelings about doing so because she is wary of being seen as a victim.

“I always have to fight with myself in understanding whether this is something I want to make public or not, because the moment I make it public and I see it in my comments there are a lot of people that express pity... It makes me uncomfortable because I don't want to see myself as a victim. I don't want to be someone people have to be sorry for.

“German society loves to portray Jews as victims and not as active subjects of our own lives... Every time we make this kind of hatred visible, we lose a part of this fight. It is a dilemma,” Veiler added.

Veiler, who did not share the longer letter with her followers, also raised concerns that sharing this hatred publicly could inspire others. She also fears that fellow Jewish students might be further traumatised by seeing what she has experienced.

She says she has learned to put on a brave face.

“When you are the representative of a Jewish organisation at a very young age, especially as a woman, you get used to the fact that sometimes you have to wear a mask and show that you're strong, and no matter what happens, you continue going, and that you cannot give up.”

Veiler said the letter is another sign that antisemitism is rearing its head in Germany with the rise of the far right.

“The AfD [Alternative for Germany] has 30 per cent of the vote. Every fifth person in this country voted AfD at the last German government elections.”

She added: “It is not something that [is] only happening in the extremes; it is in the middle of society, and it is normalised by a party sitting in German parliament wearing suits, pretending to speak as parliamentarians, but being direct successors of Hitler's ideology.”

She criticised those who say antisemitism in Germany comes only from the far left or migrant communities, but equally condemned those who suggest Jew-hate is a “normal consequence of Israel’s actions”.