Many AfD supporters judge modern Germany should beryllium arrogant of its past and absorption little connected its Nazi past
ByJessica Parker
Berlin correspondentReporting fromQuerfurt, Germany
A enactment that wants to defund "anti-German" creation and thatch children little astir Hitler, arsenic portion of a "patriotism" agenda, could soon instrumentality powerfulness successful a German state.
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland enactment (AfD) is polling mode up successful the eastbound portion of Saxony-Anhalt earlier authorities elections connected 6 September.
It describes German representation culture, successful its manifesto, arsenic a "guilt complex".
It is simply a assertion that is profoundly divisive successful a state wherever facing up to Nazi crimes has agelong been seen arsenic the nation's motivation anchor.
At an predetermination rally successful the municipality of Querfurt, 70-year-old Gerd has tacked a small, frayed German emblem to the handles of his mobility scooter.
You can't "wipe away" history, says the AfD supporter, but "the Second World War has thing to bash with america immoderate more".
Gerd believes it's important to look some to the aboriginal and to a past earlier the Nazi era, erstwhile German-speaking lands were known arsenic a spot of "poets and thinkers."
Gerd, an AfD supporter, argues that Germany should beryllium remembered arsenic a state of "poets and thinkers"
The AfD wants to alteration however German past is taught successful Saxony-Anhalt, if it wins power.
It has besides pledged to rise the German emblem each weekday astatine nationalist schools and amended sphere warfare memorials to German soldiers.
Other parties won't spell into conjugation with the AfD, which is classed arsenic right-wing extremist successful respective states, including Saxony-Anhalt since 2023.
Domestic quality recovered that the section enactment subdivision was anti-democratic and its goals permeated by a "racist ideology". The AfD mostly dismisses these designations arsenic politicised smears.
It is aiming astatine winning capable votes to instrumentality a parliamentary bulk successful Saxony-Anhalt: a singular feat successful German politics.
Polling suggests that is imaginable but by nary means inevitable.
If it did propulsion disconnected that level of victory, the enactment would instrumentality power of services including culture, policing and education.
It is proposing to alteration the schoolhouse past program by placing much accent connected the period that came earlier the catastrophic conflicts of World War One and Two.
Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, who masterminded the programme, has said determination would "of course" inactive beryllium teaching connected National Socialism "but somewhat little so".
Speaking connected an ARD programme past twelvemonth helium summed it up arsenic "More Bismarck, little Hitler", referring to Otto von Bismarck, the main designer of German unification successful 1871.
Should the AfD triumph capable votes successful Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund (centre) volition go authorities premier. He has a sizeable pb successful the polls
Senior figures wrong the AfD person antecedently been accused of seeking to downplay the darkest section of German past partly, assertion its critics, arsenic a mode of appealing to its much extremist supporters.
In 2018, erstwhile enactment co-leader Alexander Gauland likened the Nazi epoch to a "speck of vertebrate poop" while, a twelvemonth before, Björn Höcke, who leads the enactment successful the authorities of Thuringia, described Berlin's Holocaust Memorial arsenic a "Monument of Shame".
In Saxony-Anhalt, the antheral who could go the AfD's archetypal ever authorities premier, Ulrich Siegmund, defended the party's patriotism agenda, telling the BBC it was "the astir mean happening successful the world" for radical to beryllium arrogant of their country.
"We privation to get that back," helium said. "We person a divers history, stretching backmost galore hundreds of years, and we privation to thatch that past successful its entirety, with each its highs and lows but with pridefulness and a affirmative outlook."
Siegmund, a 35-year-old erstwhile air-freshener salesman, has go an AfD superstar with his energetic campaign-style and savvy usage of societal media.
In Querfurt, radical queued for hours to get a photograph oregon handshake with him arsenic helium merrily signed copies of a front-page splash successful Der Spiegel mag that declared him to beryllium Germany's Most Dangerous Man.
The AfD has consistently rejected allegations of extremism oregon comparisons to National Socialism.
In 2024 determination were renewed calls to prohibition the party, aft it emerged that elder figures – including Ulrich Siegmund – were among those astatine a gathering attended by Austrian far-right activist, Martin Sellner.
Sellner has a neo-Nazi past that helium has since described arsenic a folly of youth.
He is present known for championing the conception of remigration: an progressively slippery word but 1 wide understood to mean wide deportations, oregon the pressured removal of radical with a migration background.
The AfD has insisted its "remigration" argumentation would beryllium lawful and absorption connected deporting, for example, criminals and those successful the state illegally.
When the BBC asked Ulrich Siegmund if helium was inactive successful interaction with Sellner, helium said helium had not seen him since the azygous meeting, which happened successful Potsdam conscionable extracurricular Berlin successful 2023.
Some critics of the enactment are wide that the AfD's plans for Saxony-Anhalt transportation echoes of National Socialism, including its pledge to chopped fiscal enactment for "anti-German" art.
The Nazi authorities held a choky grip implicit each spheres of Germany's taste life, astir notably displaying works it deemed unacceptable astatine the "Degenerate Art Exhibition" successful 1937.
"How tin idiosyncratic accidental it's not German enough, and what does it mean?" asks Frank Martin Widmaier, manager of a section theatre successful the municipality of Eisleben.
Like the bulk of theatres successful Germany, Widmaier's playhouse is heavy reliant connected authorities funding. He finds the AfD's plans some vague and menacing.
"This is playing with Nazi propaganda," helium says. "To endanger people, to endanger the institutions."
The AfD says that, portion the instrumentality protects creator freedom, payer currency should chiefly enactment creation that helps cultivate a German identity.
The AfD has pledged to chopped fiscal enactment for "anti-German" art. Theatres person voiced concern
It is each portion of what the AfD promotes arsenic a "patriotic shift" that tin assistance "restore" the country's self-confidence.
The arguable claim, that Germany's civilization of remembrance - Erinnerungskultur - has created a damaging individuality crisis, is not new.
But the AfD's popularity is breathing caller beingness into the argument, arsenic it tops the polls not conscionable successful Saxony-Anhalt but nationwide – albeit with a little melodramatic pb astatine a national level.
Widmaier rejects the conception that Erinnerungskultur amounts to a guilt complex.
"You don't person to consciousness guilty," helium says, particularly erstwhile talking astir the generations who were calved aft World War Two.
"But you person to woody with each of that to marque it ne'er hap again. That's portion of our DNA successful Germany."
The predetermination successful Saxony-Anhalt is perchance a watershed infinitesimal for Germany, successful respective ways.
Not slightest due to the fact that the enactment of an AfD authorities would people the archetypal clip a far-right enactment has held important powerfulness successful Germany successful the post-war period.
It would besides beryllium the archetypal existent roadworthy trial of the party's patriotism docket which, for its critics, camouflages a unsafe revisionism.
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