Oregon school district bars speech by former Hitler courier
By The Associated Press
01.29.03
SALEM, Ore. — A man who served as a courier for Adolf Hitler in his teens, but spent his adult life as a peace activist, has been banned from speaking at a local high school.
Administrators in the Salem-Keizer School District said they feared that author Armin Lehmann could spark anti-Semitism and hatred among students at Sprague High School.
"This is one of those decisions where you've got to balance freedom of speech against our unwillingness to give a forum to a piece of literature that could be construed as racist," said Kathleen Hanneman, the district's director of secondary education.
Lehmann and his supporters say school officials should at least read his book before making a decision.
"He's definitely not pro-Hitler. He's absolutely pro-peace," said Lehmann's wife, Kim, the mayor of Waldport.
Lehmann's memoir, Hitler's Last Courier, describes his childhood as the son of an avid Nazi. He joined the Hitler Youth, fought in World War II and served as Hitler's last messenger during the siege of Berlin when he was 16.
After Hitler's death, Lehmann toured death camps and learned of the atrocities. Since then, he has been a pacifist.
Lehmann's book, published in 2000, has become an Oregon bestseller. He makes frequent appearances throughout the state and has been the subject of multiple documentaries.
Teachers in the high school's German and social studies departments invited Lehmann to give a talk at the school on Jan. 31.
But Principal Mark Davalos was uncomfortable with the topic and turned to administrators for advice, Hanneman said.
Administrators read Amazon.com reviews of the book, some of which characterized the book as racist, Hanneman said.
"There's a lot of hatred swirling around the world today," Hanneman said. "I don't think frankly this is the correct time to bring in a public speaker that might have been affiliated with the Nazi Party."
Kim Lehmann said the author often speaks in middle and high schools and has even been asked to appear at Holocaust events.
"We've never run into a problem before," she said.