Bavarian deputy prime minister Hubert Aiwanger addresses a press conference in Munich. Photo: Reuters/Peter Kneffel

The embattled deputy premier of the southern German state of Bavaria — accused of writing a viciously antisemitic leaflet mocking the Holocaust while a schoolboy — pushed back against his critics on Thursday, offering an apology for any offense caused but insisting that he and his party are the victims of a smear campaign.

In a brief media appearance in Munich, Hubert Aiwanger — the 52-year-old deputy prime minister whose conservative Free Voters (Freie Wähler) Party is the junior partner in the Bavarian coalition government with the right-wing Christian Social Union (CSU) — apologized to the victims of the Nazis and their descendants but added pointedly, “I was never an antisemite, I was never a misanthrope.”

Last Saturday, the Munich-based Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) news outlet reported that Aiwanger was behind a typewritten leaflet mocking the Holocaust that was discovered in the lavatory of the Burkhart Gymnasium in the town of Mallersdorf-Pfaffenberg in 1987, when he was 17. According to the SZ, members of staff and former students at the school confirmed that Aiwanger had been summoned before a school disciplinary committee over the leaflet and was sanctioned as a result.

The leaflet parodied national history competitions through demeaning references to the Holocaust. For example, the “prize” for the best answer to the question “Who is the greatest traitor to the fatherland?” was “a complimentary flight through the chimney at Auschwitz.

Similar “prizes” were offered for answers to other questions, among them a “lifelong stay in a mass grave,” “a free shot in the back of the neck,” “a ticket … to the entertainment quarter Auschwitz,” and a “night’s stay in the Gestapo cellar, then a trip to Dachau.”

A swiftly-released statement from Aiwanger denying authorship of the leaflet was followed by a confession from his brother, Helmut, claiming that he was in fact responsible. However, Hubert Aiwanger’s protestations of innocence have failed to convince opposition politicians in Bavaria and German Jewish leaders, who continue to demand his resignation. Meanwhile, Bavaria’s Prime Minister, Markus Söder — who faces parliamentary elections on Oct. 8 — continues to wait for the written answers to the 25 questions about the scandal that he instructed Aiwanger to address.

In the interim, German media outlets have eagerly pursued the story, resulting in fresh revelations from Aiwanger’s former classmates. In an interview with broadcaster ARD, Mario Bauer, who spent two years in the same class as the deputy premier, recalled that the young Aiwanger was prone to making Nazi salutes when entering a classroom as well as imitating Hitler’s speeches. And in a separate interview with Bavarian broadcaster BR24, another classmate who chose to remain anonymous remembered Aiwanger cracking antisemitic jokes following a school visit to a concentration camp memorial.

“One evening, I was very upset when he made a joke about Jews that I remember as very repulsive,” he said. “I can also remember a joke about children in Africa going hungry. It seemed to me that Hubert found this kind of humor rather delicious.”

A separate report in the SZ on Wednesday quoted a third former classmate who claimed that Aiwanger had frequently carried a copy of Hitler’s screed, “Mein Kampf,” while at school.

At his Thursday press conference, Aiwanger stressed that his “sincere apologies go first and foremost to all the victims of the Nazi regime, their families and everyone involved in the valuable work of commemoration.”

The rest of Aiwanger’s encounter with the press was devoted to his claims of innocence and his assertion that he and his party had been smeared, however. “These allegations are from 36 years ago,” he said. “I emphasize again: I did not write the pamphlet. I dissociate myself in every way from the disgusting content. I was never an antisemite, I was never a misanthrope…I can’t remember ever making a Hitler salute. I didn’t rehearse any Hitler speeches in front of the mirror. From my memory, I can neither completely deny nor confirm other allegations such as misanthropic jokes. If this happened, I sincerely apologize.”

On the question as to whether he distributed the leaflet, Aiwanger would only admit that copies had been discovered in his school bag. “I made mistakes when I was young, too,” he said. “I deeply regret if I have hurt feelings through my response to the leaflet in question or other allegations against me from my youth.”

Media coverage of the scandal was “now being used in a political campaign against me and my party,” he continued. “I have the impression that I am to be finished off politically and personally. A negative picture of me has been drawn in the last few days. That’s not me, that’s not Hubert Aiwanger.”

Opinion polls over the last few days may offer Aiwanger some comfort, suggesting that the majority of German voters do not believe he should resign over the scandal. A survey published by the Augsburger Allgemeine revealed that 53 percent of voters supported Aiwanger remaining in his post — a figure that rose to 62 percent among respondents in Bavaria.