Berlin – A German radio presenter has been fired after saying “Work Sets You Free” (“Arbeit macht frei“), a slogan used at some Nazi concentration camps and a symbol of atrocities committed by the Nazi regime, to listeners who had to work at the weekend.
Several listeners of the Munich-based Radio Gong 96.3 complained during the July 28 programme when the 39-year-old female freelance presenter made the remark, according to the BZ paper.
One couple filed charges after having reportedly been told by another radio employee to take the comment as a joke. “Take it easy but with humor,” the 19-year-old assistant was reported to have said on the phone.
Munich public prosecutors have opened preliminary proceedings on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, the paper said.
It quoted the radio station’s head Georg Dingler as saying both women had been dismissed “even if they have acknowledged their mistake.”
“The station has long been committed to fighting the far right,” Dingler told BZ.
