Silvana Heißenberg was a well-known and popular actress in Germany, starring in numerous television productions and enjoying a secure existence. However, her fortunes changed when she began to publicly criticize Angela Merkel’s migration policy and draw attention to the problems that Germans were experiencing. Heißenberg paid a high price for her outspoken stance. The German press labelled her a Nazi, but the witch-hunt didn’t end there; she was denied work and became completely unemployable. Eventually, she left Germany and moved to Hungary to start a new life in peace and security. Zaol.hu interviewed the actress about her experiences in Germany.
Silvana Heißenberg began her career as a photo model and, since 2014, has appeared in several films and commercials. Her career, however, came to an abrupt halt on 12 October 2016, when Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) aired a defamatory report criticizing her outspoken views on Angela Merkel’s migration policy.
‘The German press launched a smear campaign against me, labelling me a Nazi and practically cancelling me,’
Heißenberg said in the interview. She explained that she had a hard time finding a job, which led to existential difficulties. Ultimately, she was not only blacklisted in her profession but couldn’t even secure a job as a cashier.
Heißenberg spoke out against the permissive migration policy after the mass harassment and violence by migrants in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015. During the interview, she also revealed that she herself had been subjected to similar abuse by people with immigrant background. She recounted an incident when, while filming in Cologne, a white van stopped next to her and the ‘southern type’ men inside called out for her to get in. As she walked away, one of the men, likely a migrant, approached her and made a sexual proposition. The actress said she started shaking and panicked, but fortunately, police officers on patrol arrived, and she ran to them, causing the harassers to flee.
‘I can tell you of many more cases like this because I have spoken to many victims in recent years, and I have written a book about them, including my own story,’ she said. According to the actress, most Germans are unhappy with the current situation but fear the exclusion and public stigmatization that come with voicing dissent. ‘We have reached a point where people in Germany no longer dare to put up the national flag on their houses for fear of being labelled nationalists, while in the state of North Rhine–Westphalia there are on average 30 stabbings a day,’ she pointed out.
Eventually, Heißenberg became fed up with Germany, sold her house, and moved to Nagykanizsa in Hungary. ‘I’ve only been living here for a few weeks, but it’s liberating to live in a country where I don’t have to be afraid, where I can go out after dark,’ she said. She added that
Viktor Orbán and his government are well aware of the issues caused by migration in Western Europe,
and it is no coincidence that they are consciously distancing themselves from it.
Finally, the actress said she would not return to Germany even if she were invited. ‘The whole country has become a huge no-go zone, with all the downsides,’ she concluded.
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