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Gerhard Frey (politician)

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This article is about the publisher. For the mathematician, see Gerhard Frey.
Frey in 2009

Gerhard Michael Frey (18 February 1933 – 19 February 2013) was a German publisher, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and main financial backer of the right-wing party Deutsche Volksunion, which he founded in 1971. He resigned as chairman in January 2009.[1]

Gerhard Frey was born in 1933 in Cham. He was married to Regine Frey, with whom he has four children.[1][2] His daughter Michaela (born 1965) is an attorney, his son Gerhard Jr. (born 1969) is a lawyer. Frey died 2013 at age 80 in Gräfelfing near Munich.[3]

The scholar Cas Mudde described Frey as "One of the most influential people in the German post-war extreme right scene" and a "multi-millionaire media czar who owns and publishes several newspapers".[4]

Frey took control of the far right Deutschen Soldaten-Zeitung in 1959, later renamed National Zeitung, and raised the papers circulation from 27,500 in 1958 to 131,000 in 1967. The paper frequently published historical revisionist and anti-Israel articles.[5][6]

An opponent of Israel, Frey used the term desk murderer (Schreibtischtäter) for people who support the country as, in his view, they thereby became accomplices in crimes committed there.[7]

During his lifetime, a former employee described Frey as unbelievably greedy and accused him of using his publications for personal enrichment by constantly asking subscribers for donations to various causes, selling commemorative coins of "outstanding Germans" like Rudolf Hess or Hans-Ulrich Rudel with a huge mark-up, or asking them to join one of the connected associations, like the Aktion Oder-Neiße, the Ehrenbund Rudel (Honor Federation Rudel) or Initiative für Ausländerbegrenzung (Initiative for the limitation of foreigners).[8]

Frey has been described as rarely generous, except at his party functions where he hosted David Irving, which he payed generously and provided a hired luxury car for.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b ""Frey-Partei" ohne Frey / Der DVU-Vorsitzende ist abgetreten". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 January 2009, page 6.
  2. ^ "Ehepaar Frey spendete DVU mehr als eine Million Mark". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 31 March 1994, page 2.
  3. ^ tm/rc (AP, AFP, dpa) (23 February 2013). "Far-right financier Gerhard Frey dies". DW. Retrieved 24 February 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Cas Mudde (2002). The Ideology of the Extreme Right. Manchester University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-7190-6446-3.
  5. ^ "Deutsche National Zeitung". Der Spiegel (in German). 13 March 1963. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  6. ^ Strothmann, Dietrich (8 September 1967). "Angeklagt: die National-Zeitung" [Charged: The National Zeitung]. Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  7. ^ Jahr, Christoph (17 January 2017). "Die Täter hinter den Tätern" [The culprits behind the culprits]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  8. ^ a b "„Seine Raffgier ist umfassend"" [His greed is all encompassing]. Der Spiegel (in German). 29 May 1989. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
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