Tim Heldt, a popular German YouTuber posting under the synonym Kuchen TV, has been ordered to pay a fine of €16,000 by authorities in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) for allegedly using a Nazi phrase during a live stream watched by 200,000 people.
He was accused of slipping the phrase “Sieg Heil” into his speech at a Christmas event in Lower Saxony in December 2024.
On June 4, Heldt published the penalty order he had received from the public prosecutor’s office at the behest of the Lower Saxony police in a post on X. It reads:
“You are accused of the following: On 22.12.2024 you were at a streaming event titled XXL Christmas Show 2.0 with 400+ guests in Bispingen. The even was being live-streamed on the platform Twitch. Asked by the interviewer whether you were streaming yourself you answered fully aware of the live stream: ‘I try Sieg Heil the quality is not so good around here somehow.’
“You were aware that ‘Sieg Heil’ is a parole of the National Socialists during the so-called Third Reich.”
The prosecution was therefore accusing Heldt of violating Article 86a of the German Criminal Code that outlaws displaying, using or disseminating symbols of banned organisations, including those of the Nazi party.
Heldt called the order “unbelievable” and shared the contentious scene with the public, adding: “The stream is still online. I don’t even say that to any effect. I get muddled up with the word ‘quality’. How do you come up with something like that?”
He announced he was going to fight the charges. He would still not be compensated for the costs of his lawyer. Heldt concluded: “I hate this filthy country more and more.”
In a follow-up post on June 5, Heldt went on to further analyse the recording of his alleged use of the Nazi slogan, playing the soundbite at half speed and checking how YouTube’s automated close-caption service transcribed his utterance, namely as “with I try the the quality”.
Alle Infos zum Strafbefehl pic.twitter.com/UAJrq5MNWz
— KuchenTV (@Kuchngeschmack) June 5, 2025
Heldt concluded: “Where the hell can you hear what they are accusing me of? Bro, I’m slurring my words a bit because I had three cups of mulled wine.
“As if I would just randomly think: Hey, I guess I’ll start out by dishing out a Nazi parole. Yeah man, that would be really great.”
Brussels Signal contacted the Lower Saxony police for comment. According to its press secretary, the crime Heldt stood accused of was a public offence. “However, this case was reported from outside [the executive branch],” the secretary continued.
The final verdict would now be passed by a German court in the coming months.
