Far-Right Poster Girl Turns Out to Be Czech Erotic Model
German right-wing extremists had hoped to lure teenagers to their cause in Cologne with a new youth magazine. The nationalists even had an ad with an attractive young girl next to the slogan: "German is Hot!" The only problem? The model turned out to be a Czech erotic model.
A German far-right group has run into trouble for a publication directed towards teens in Cologne. After first angering advertisers who felt they had been duped into supporting a xenophobic student magazine named Objektiv, the right-wing bigots are now accused of stealing pictures used in the 24-page publication.
Ironically, the photo in question is of an attractive blond in a tank top and short skirt next to the slogan: "German is Hot!" But in an embarrassing faux pas for the German nationalists, a Berlin Web blog found out that the Teutonic hottie is actually a Czech lingerie model. So much for offering a "free-patriotic point of view," as was supposedly the remit of the less-than-objective Objektiv.
Photo Gallery: Teutonic Poster Girl or Slavic Erotic Model?
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According to Internet Web site operator DutchTeenCash, the right-wing extremists behind Objektiv failed to pay for the photo of the girl -- a 20-year-old student from the Czech Republic known online as "Jaimy" -- raising the possibility of legal action. "We've handed this over to our lawyers and will likely go to court," a spokesman for the company said, explaining that they had been unable to reach Objektiv's backers, the "Bürgerbewegung Pro Köln" (Citizen Initiative for Cologne), to discuss copyright infringement.
Objektiv's student publisher, who included tips for an aquarium visit and sport climbing with warnings about the "sexual steam on our streets" from local Turks and an anti-mosque campaign, is claiming ignorance about the decision to use a Slavic erotic model as a Teutonic poster girl.
"I didn't know anything about it," said Martin Schöppe, a Cologne high school student. His sentiments are echoed by Manfred Rouhs, an official from Pro Köln in the city government. "I can definitely and officially say that no one has contacted us about copyright infringement," Rouhs said, even though he could not explain why Jaimy's photo had been removed from the group's Web site. "I'm not familiar with that."
The Czech erotic model incident isn't the first time that Objektiv has caused problems for the far-right group. Many of the businesses that advertised in the first and only issue of the student publication now say they were unaware of its xenophobic nature, causing them to complain they were duped by the right-wing extremists.
"We were approached about an ad in a student magazine," said Patrick Schneider, the head of local dance school Schulerecki. "Once I had the thing in my hands I was shocked. We won't allow ourselves to be used to pull a right-wing extremist cart!" He too is looking into legal action after the group refused to stop offering an online version of Objektiv.
With reporting by Armin Himmelrath