Hitler speech on Railjet: ÖBB boss condemns incident
Kurier, May 16, 2023
German original: https://kurier.at/chronik/oesterreich/hitler-oebb-zug-matthae-israelitische-kultusgemeinde/402451743
ÖBB board is "aware that incident causes disturbance in Jewish community". Two "railway-savvy" youths as suspects.
After excerpts of a Hitler speech were played on an ÖBB rai-jet on Sunday evening, ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä addressed the president of the Jewish Community Vienna (IKG), Oskar Deutsch, in a letter obtained by APA on Tuesday.
"I am personally deeply shocked by this incident and have immediately arranged for internal investigations to be started," Matthä wrote.
The incident was also the subject of a video published by ÖBB on Twitter. It says that there is room for all people on the trains. "But there is no room for anti-Semitism, xenophobia, hatred and exclusion," it continues.
ÖBB CEO Matthä said he was aware that the incident on the Railjet was causing "disturbance in the Jewish community" and casting a "bad light on the railroad and the country". "Anti-Semitism and hatred have no place at ÖBB - neither on the train nor anywhere else," Matthä assured. He added that the railroad would do everything possible to clarify the case and implement measures to avert such incidents in the future. Deutsch invited the ÖBB board to the IKG in response to the letter.
Two youths suspected
According to Matthä, the suspects are two youths who had already attracted the attention of ÖBB for trespassing on railroad facilities or trains or for wearing ÖBB uniforms. It is assumed that the suspects "have very good knowledge of operational procedures and also technical equipment due to their 'railroad affinity'." They have already been contacted by the police and summoned for questioning as suspects, the exact time of questioning is not known to him, writes the ÖBB boss. Investigations are underway for re-activation under the Prohibition Act and disruptive behavior as well as unauthorized entry into certain areas of railroad facilities.
The incident happened on a Railjet that was traveling from Bregenz to Vienna. On the train, excerpts from a historical recording of a Hitler speech could be heard. This was followed by several shouts of "Sieg Heil". According to the railroad, the recordings were made directly on the train via the intercoms. ÖBB is aware of a total of three cases in which the loudspeakers were "hijacked." The first two incidents occurred in the previous week, always on the route between St. Pölten and Vienna, an ÖBB spokesman told APA.