ZDF director Norbert Himmler said he stood by the decision to cancel the performance: “In my view, the lyrics unquestionably provide instructions for a leftist resistance willing to use violence,”

One might argue, that he did the perfect thing at the perfect time to maximize the impact of this song, I'd wager even maximizing it more than a simple airing at something past ten in the night would have done. That man is not stupid and he knows how media works, that's why he's where he is. He saved face, he took the ZDF out of the legal and conservative line of fire and looking at the result, well, chapeau, almost.