Attila Hildmann

Attila Klaus-Peter Hildmann (born 22 April 1981) is a German vegan cookbook author and far-right conspiracy theorist. He wrote his first cookbook in 2009, and his book Vegan for Fun was named cookbook of the year by the Vegetarierbund Deutschland in 2012. He subsequently featured in numerous television programs and talk shows.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hildmann emerged as a disseminator of conspiracy ideologies surrounding the virus. He has described himself as "ultra right-wing" and as a German nationalist. He has been repeatedly characterized as antisemitic and has been on the run since February 2021, when German prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant for his arrest. He evaded the arrest warrant by leaving for Turkey, which announced in 2023 that it would not extradite him because of his Turkish citizenship.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in West Berlin, Hildmann is of Turkish descent and was raised by German adoptive parents. He studied for a diploma in physics at the Free University of Berlin but failed to graduate.

Hildmann became vegetarian after witnessing his adoptive father die of a heart attack whilst on a ski trip in 2000. He attributed the death to excessive meat consumption resulting in hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol). Fearing the same fate and being heavily overweight, he renounced meat and fish products, and began to exercise regularly, losing 35 kg in weight. Over time, he abstained from consuming almost all animal products and became primarily vegan.

In 2009, Hildmann wrote his first vegan cookbook. In 2012, his Vegan for Fun was named cookbook of the year by Vegetarierbund Deutschland, the German branch of the International Vegetarian Union.