Friday, August 29
Steglitz-Zehlendorf moves to blacklist Kanye West tracks WW3 and Heil Hitler
The Berlin district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf has announced its intention to ban two songs – WW3 and Heil Hitler – by the US rapper Kanye West. The district stated that a motion to add these songs to the official index of media harmful to young people has already been passed by the Cultural Affairs Committee. If approved by the District Council, it would then be submitted at the federal level, which could lead to a legal ban in Germany.
The index of harmful media (Index jugendgefährdender Medien) was first established in the 1950s with the aim of limiting young people’s access to material considered harmful, overly violent or sexual, or that glorified Nazi ideology. The first items ever indexed were comic books (Tarzan and an Italian comic called Il Piccolo Sceriffo, listed for its portrayal of Indigenous peoples). There have been some curious additions over the years: the Mortal Kombat video games were banned for violent content, and Wolfenstein 3D for its display of Nazi symbols. Both have since been removed from the list.
Being added to the index is a serious matter: items listed there cannot be sold or made accessible to minors, nor viewed in their presence. They may only be sold in areas of shops restricted to adults, and are subject to other limitations.
The songs in question have both been singled out for their forthright praise of the Nazis. In Heil Hitler, Ye describes his custody battle and uses it as justification for why he “became a Nazi”. The song ends with a sample from a 1935 speech by Adolf Hitler. In WW3, the 47-year-old musician again raps about Hitler.
If the songs were listed, international streaming services might block them altogether, although this is not guaranteed. According to an article in Rib, Berlin radio stations such as Radio Eins and Kiss FM have already decided not to play any of Kanye West’s music.
