SYDNEY, N.S. — A former associate of Andreas Popp and Eva Herman is glad news is out about the Knowledge Factory seminars in Cape Breton and the couple's alleged far-right "doomsday" beliefs.
The German man, who has been living in Cape Breton for 20 years, said he knew the couple well and has witnessed some of the alleged activities outlined in an investigative report done by Der Spiegel, one of Germany's most popular news magazines last week. The story was picked up by Canadian media including the Cape Breton Post.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the former associate said he believes the Der Spiegel article because he has witnessed some of what sources told journalist Dr. Martin Doerry, plus Doerry's reputation for quality reporting.
"The good thing with Dr. Doerry is ... he doesn't publish anything without having the facts and doing lots of research," he said.
The couple is alleged to be using their week-long Knowledge Factory (Wisseinsmanufaktur) seminars in Cape Breton to help sell lots in certain areas to a select group of elite Germans who have similar far-right ideologies.
"They are coming over because they don't like Germany anymore. And the only reason they're coming over to Canada is because Popp and Herman promise them, that in their colony if they buy a property and a house from them, they can live here based on the German values from 1933-1945 and nobody disturbs them...They want to be a closed community."
When he first met the couple, the former associate knew of Herman because of her job as a news anchor for Germany's national broadcaster but hadn't heard of Popp.
Friends of his in Germany questioned his affiliation with them, leading him to do more research where he found online the couple have social media channels and have written books about their far right-wing views. These include chemtrails being biological or chemical tools purposely released in the sky to create harm, the COVID-19 pandemic being a hoax and the global economy is controlled by a small group of elite people.
As time went on, the former associate saw evidence of their far right-wing views and belief in "doomsday prophecies" which are discussed at the start of the Knowledge Factory seminars held on the island.
"Popp starts the seminar with the theory that the whole world is a part of a big conspiracy to destroy Germany. What is the purpose of that message?" he said.
"The seminar fuels fear and panic into the people...They literally have some people in tears, then Eva steps in and says buy here (to escape this)."
Like the Der Spiegel article claims, the former associate said the attendees of the Cape Breton seminars all share similar right-wing ideologies and real estate agency Cape Breton Real Solutions staff are on hand to sell the properties at two to three times higher than the assessed property value.
In written statements, the CEO of Cape Breton Real Solutions Juergen Gindner, Popp and Herman deny the companies are working together in this way.
Gindner, who the former associate says worked for Popp in Germany, said in the written statement that Popp suggests attendees don't buy property while there for the seminar.
The former associate said he knows "quite a few" Germans who have bought property through the seminars and each of them has the same views and these land purchases were done by Cape Breton Real Solutions.
He believes the public should know what Popp, Herman and others in their "inner circle" are allegedly doing because of how it's affected the housing market in the area.
"I think the important part that people should know is that in between West Bay to St. Peter's, there's no vacant property. They have bought it all. Pretty much everything," he said.
"For a young Canadian who wants to go there and buy a property that's usually $25,000, they are selling them for 199,000 Euros (nearly $312,000 Canadian)," he said. "It's a lot and that's just something people should think about. Do they really want to sell everything to them?"
The former associate also believes Canadians should know the extreme political views Popp and Herman have, which is published online in German, because it will help people make informed decisions.
"I'm German. If somebody comes to me and says … that everything that happened during the Second World War wasn't all that mean, you know, and that it got taken out of context and really it wasn't all that bad, then I'm getting nervous and I'm getting anxious because that's not true. You cannot erase or cloud history. We cannot deny anything that happened. And we have to stand up to people who are trying to do that," he said.
"We live in 2020. Look at what's happening south of the border. Look at what racism has done there at the moment. It's out of control. In 2020 there's no place for that anymore … I'm not trying to change people's minds, no. That's not my place to do so. But people have to know the facts to make an educated decision. Do they want to do business with these people? Do they want to associate themselves with them?"
In written statements, Popp and Herman have released in regards to the allegations they deny promoting extreme right-wing ideologies.
"The opposite is the case," reads the statement released on July 25. "We constantly warn of the great danger of the new totalitarian current, such as those that appeared in the darkest chapter of German history."
MORE CONCERN
A German man who moved to Halifax to do his master's degree was so concerned by news of the alleged business practices and the far-right political seminars outlined in the Der Spiegel article he immediately sent a letter asking Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil to look into it.
Agreeing to an interview with the Cape Breton Post on the basis he isn't named, for fear his family in Germany will be targeted by right-wing extremists, the man said he was contacted by three friends after the news broke.
"The past five years in Germany, the political climate has gotten very toxic (with some far-right politicians and the AFD (Alternative for Germany) party. I know these people, Eva Herman and Andreas Popp, are like leaders to some people in this new extreme far-right movement," he said.
"I am worried if they have a recruiting centre here … To bring people who believe these things that they do, what it will do to the political climate here."
Part of the reason the German man decided to move to Canada permanently is because of this.
"In Nova Scotia, we celebrate and find strength in our diversity. We are welcoming and kind. Racism and hatred have no place here," Premier McNeil said in a statement sent to the Post on July 24.
"At a time when Nova Scotians are pulling together to combat a global pandemic, break down and eliminate systemic racism and chart an inclusive path forward for our province, any efforts to promote divisiveness and intolerance would be unacceptable."
OTHER POLITICIANS STATEMENTS
Cape Breton-Canso MP Mike Kelloway and Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke have released written statements regarding the allegations against Popp, Herman and Cape Breton Real Solutions.
Kelloway acknowledges the people named in the Der Spiegel article were a part of a meeting he attended in January to discuss doctor recruitment to the island in his statement which is posted on his Facebook page.
"I understand that these allegations may be subject to legal action so I cannot comment further," the statement reads, "However, generally speaking let me unequivocally state that there is no place in society not the beautiful Cape Breton-Canso for hateful extremism of any kind."
In the statement released by Clarke, he calls Cape Breton "peaceful, beautiful, multicultural and multi-racial" and says he has brought his concerns to the Nova Scotia Attorney General and the Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission.
More to come: As the Cape Breton Post coverage of this continues, we'll be speaking to supporters of Eva Herman and Andreas Popp who have attended a Knowledge Factory seminar in Cape Breton.
