"Wanted to be a role model"

Miss Germany defies the hate online

Apameh Schönauer is not discouraged. "My mission is to encourage young women with a migrant background to become the best version of themselves and to be strong."(Bild: APA/ Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

Apameh Schönauer is Miss Germany 2024. The Berliner with Iranian roots is 39 years old and an architect. But her nomination also has a dark side: Since her victory, Schönauer has been subjected to a flood of hate and agitation online and on social media.

"I took part in Miss Germany because I wanted to make a difference. I have a little daughter who is two years old and I felt that I wanted to take responsibility so that I could be a role model for her. And I've always been motivated by the strong Iranian women who take to the streets every day and fight for their freedom. And those were the reasons why I said I had to do something and make a difference," she says in an interview with AFP.

Had "no idea it would be so great"
The dark side of her crowning as Miss Germany: since her victory, Apameh Schönauer has been subjected to a flood of hate and agitation online and in social media.

Schönauer has been subjected to a flood of hate and agitation online and on social media.(Bild: APA/AFP/Tobias SCHWARZ)

"Of course I knew I'd get a bit of a headwind, but not like this. I had no idea it would be this big, but it shows me that my topic couldn't be more important than it is right now," says Apameh.

"Should sit down at the table with me"
She continues: "These messages are so superficial that I can't do anything with them. And these people who are behind it are in my eyes ... It's very, very sad, because if they dare, they should sit down at the table with me and we can talk constructively, but if someone is now hiding behind their screen, behind an anonymous name, what can I say? I'm not wasting my energy on that."

Refuses to be discouraged
Nevertheless, she refuses to be discouraged. "My mission is to encourage young women with a migrant background to become the best version of themselves and to be strong. And my focus is on the topics of future and origin, so you can forget about your origin again, but you have to look to your future now and try to do the best you can"

The organizers of the competition have expressed their solidarity with Schönauer. They are certain that they have chosen the right Miss Germany, they said in a statement.