BERLIN, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A German politician has refused to drop a campaign slogan associated with Nazi rhetoric, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported.
Henry Nitzsche, of the Christian Democratic Union, said he will stick to his campaign motto, "Work, Family and Fatherland," despite its rhetorical association with Adolf Hitler's Nazi party.
The slogan is representative of the campaign, the Saxony lawmaker told the online version of the weekly.
If he were to drop the line, it "could give the signal that democrats can't use these phrases," he said. "We can't leave the topic of work, family and fatherland to the extremists."
The slogan "Work, Family, Fatherland" was used by the Vichy regime in France, which collaborated with the Nazis during their occupation of the country. In 2004, the slogan was used by Germany's far right National Democratic Party.
Nitzsche said he did not know of the motto's previous use.
Roland Koch, CDU state premier of Hesse, sided with Nitzsche and said the debate is a typically German one.
"In no other country would the use of these three words set off a debate over whether it should be allowed," he told the daily Rheinische Post.
