News Release
November 28, 2005
In response to a protest by The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, Teen People magazine, which is owned by Time Inc., has removed from its web site an article that whitewashed a neo-Nazi teenage singing duo.
“It was irresponsible for Teen People to post an article describing these neo-Nazis as ‘white separatists’ without ever acknowledging that they are racists, admirers of Hitler, and Holocaust-deniers,” said Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the Wyman Institute. “Time Inc has done the right thing by removing the offensive article from the Teen People web site.”
The controversy began when Teen People announced that its upcoming February 2006 issue would include a feature story on “Prussian Blue,” the 13 year-old twin sisters Lynx and Lamb Gaede. But the announcement described the twins’ beliefs only as “white pride” and did not mention that they wear Hitler t-shirts, deny the Holocaust, and frequently perform at neo-Nazi events. According to media reports, Teen People promised the twins it would refrain from using the words “hate,” “supremacist,” and “Nazi” in the article. In response to public protests, Time Inc, which publishes Teen People, announced that the upcoming story has been canceled.
But the Wyman Institute discovered that Teen People’s web site was continuing to run a second sanitized story about the Gaede twins, which described their beliefs only as “white separatism” and did not explain that they are neo-Nazis and Holocaust-deniers.
In response to the Wyman Institute’s protests, Time Inc has now removed the second story from the Teen People web site.
Dr. Medoff said: “During the 1930s, too many in the news media failed to report accurately on the violent and racist nature of Adolf Hitler and his followers. We dare not repeat that tragic mistake. It is particularly important that publications which appeal to young people, such as Teen People, report fully and accurately on groups like Prussian Blue, which are poisoning the minds of America’s youth with their racist hate.”
Note: The Wyman Institute is the only organization which publishes an annual report on Holocaust-denial around the world. Its 2005 report will be issued in late December. To reserve a copy of the report, please call 202-434-8994.