Peter Sichrovsky

Peter Sichrovsky (born 5 September 1947) is an Austrian journalist, writer, former politician and Member of the European Parliament. He belonged to the Freedom Party of Austria during his two terms in the European Parliament, although he was officially non-attached.

Early life Peter Sichrovsky was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. His father was spared by an SS officer as a teenager, after they were caught trying to flee to Belgium. He lost most of his family to the Holocaust.

Political career He first made headlines for, whilst working for Der Standard, dubbing Jörg Haider (leader of the Freedom Party of Austria who described the Waffen SS as “men of honour”), as “the scum that floats to the surface”. But he would soon join Haider's FPÖ, defending Haider's controversial words about the SS by claiming that "not every SS man was a devil and not every concentration camp survivor was a saint”.

Facing the prospects of leaving the European Parliament, in 2003, he would claim that his "political career has been something of a failure", since he failed to "establish a democratic right-wing platform", lamenting that the parliament remained "dominated by two large groups, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the socialists.”

Other works Sichrovsky has written fifteen books, including four children's books, plays, and screenplays.

Controversially, the interviews were thought to be fictitious by his former friend Niklas Frans, who inferred it from a discussion with Peter.