Palm branches in the classroom and the pupils visiting an Easter market are “Christian fundamentalism” for an Upper Austrian AHS director – he reprimanded the teacher and canceled the Easter tradition.

A letter from the father of a student whose parents are second-generation Bosnians was decisive for this (over)reaction by the director, who also accused the teacher of “insensitive behavior.” He angrily addressed the school with the following sentences:

Our child is very disturbed by the transformation of his classroom into a church. Even an Easter market is completely unreasonable for M. We will therefore leave our child at home for the time being.

The state party secretary of the FPÖ Upper Austria, member of parliament Michael Gruber, reacted to this incident with outrage. He said that anyone who comes to us has to accept our values, traditions and culture – bowing down is the wrong way to go. In a broadcast, he also said:

The idea that there should be neither a decoration with palm branches nor a visit to an Easter market: to me, this is another expression of a misunderstanding of tolerance at the expense of our traditions, values and culture.

Gruber spoke of “anticipatory obedience.” Pork would be removed from the menu, the Advent market would be renamed the winter market, the feast of St. Martin would become a parade of lights, and the visit of St. Nicholas would no longer take place at all.

“If we don’t put a stop to these goings-on, we run the risk of losing our own identity – in the cultural, socio-political and religious spheres.

The teacher and columnist Niki Glattauer – as the newspaper reported today – received a letter from the teacher who had been reprimanded by the AHS director, and took the same line as Gruber. With the following content:

I ask you, are palm fronds fundamentalist and an Easter market for schoolchildren completely unreasonable?

Niki Glattauer replied:</strong

You are asking me? Well, the only thing I find unacceptable, Madam, is the behavior of your management.