A Far-Right Party Has Won A German Regional Election For The First Time Since Hitler’s Nazi Party In World War II
Founded in 2013, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s ideology is anti-immigration, anti-Islam and carries a German nationalism sentiment.
A far-right party has won in a regional election in Germany for the first time since Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in World War II.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD picked up the most votes in the eastern German state of Thuringia on Sunday, Sep. 1.
The party won almost a third of the vote at 32.8%, leading in front of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the main center-right party.
Founded in 2013, AfD’s ideology is anti-immigration, anti-Islam and carries a German nationalism sentiment.
It also has a large neo-nazi following.
Its popularity grew after 2015, as the Chancellor at the time, Angela Merkel, allowed more than one million refugees into the country – most of whom were fleeing the civil war in Syria.
Since then, the party has gained ground in states in east Germany, which have historically had less diversity, and have higher unemployment rates and lower income.
The exacerbated economic struggles has led many in the region to blame immigrants for the issues, even though they did not cause them, according to Vox.
AfD also did well in the neighboring state of Saxony, only losing by 0.5%.
The party’s leader in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has repeatedly invoked slogans associated with the Nazi regime.
In 2021, at the end of an election event, he shouted “Everything for Germany” (“Alles für Deutschland”), a phrase introduced by Hitler’s Nazi party that has since been banned in Germany.
Höcke, who is a former history teacher, claimed he did not know the origin of the slogan and said he was “completely innocent”.
He was still charged and found guilty and fined €13,000 in May 2024.
In December 2023, he used the slogan again at another event and was fined again in July 2024.
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called the AfD’s victory “bitter” and urged mainstream parties in the two states to exclude the AfD when forming governing coalitions.
“Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation,” Scholz said in a statement.
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