Nazi-Vergleiche und Political Correctness

Society is outraged as soon as a celebrity refers to Hitler and the Nazis. However, are such references really tangible scandals or are they skilfully turned into scandals by politicians, journalists and the general public. In this study, the linguist and long-time journalist Dr. Frederik Weinert analyses why references to the Nazi regime and media scandals are so successful. Diehard football fans spur on their team with chants such as ‘Come on Sachsenhausen’, while Eva Herman stumbles over the word ‘Autobahn’ (motorway) and Harald Schmidt tests to what extent this word and his own vocabulary refer to the Nazis and are therefore inappropriate using a ‘Nazometer’, a device of his own invention, for comic effect on his talk show. These examples show that references to the Nazi regime do not only occur in politics, but in all areas of public life. But why are some comments condemned and others not? The author explains this phenomenon using a complex evaluative formula and, in doing so, enters unchartered territory in the fields of linguistics and communication studies.