Extremism - Memorial site leader accuses AfD of Nazi links
Buchenwald Memorial Site Director Jens-Christian Wagner sees open displays of National Socialism from the Thuringian AfD. "The AfD is actually letting the mask slip more and more," Wagner told the German Press Agency in Erfurt. Recently, the Thuringian AfD leader Bjoern Hoecke shared a quote from publisher Arthur Moeller van den Bruck on Telegram. Moeller van den Bruck wrote the book "The Third Reich" in the 1920s. "That's an open Nazi reference - and approvingly so," said Wagner, historian and professor of history in media and publicity at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.
Moeller van den Bruck died in 1925 and did not live to see Hitler's seizure of power. He is considered a representative of the Conservative Revolution and, according to Wagner, a forerunner of National Socialism. He was also the namesake of the NS state.
A spokesperson for the Thuringian AfD responded to the allegations: "Mr. Wagner's allegations, as always, are simply grotesque and based on constructed connections and guilt by association."
Parole reminiscent of SA slogan
Wagner also pointed out that the Thuringian AfD's election program for the autumn landtag election lists a folk song by Franz Langheinrich as its leading program points. Langheinrich wrote for the art magazine "Das Bild" in the 1930s. The art historian Kirsten Baumann wrote in her 2002 published dissertation "Word Battles. Volksdeutsche and National Socialist Art Criticism 1927–1939," that the magazine was marked by open anti-Semitism.
Wagner said the text of the song is harmlessly German-nationalistic. But if the AfD election program places the text of a hardcore National Socialist and racial thinker before it, that's "an explicitly positive reference to National Socialism." "That's where Hoecke, that's where the AfD, really stands."
On the cover page of the Thuringian AfD's election program, in large letters, is the slogan "Everything for Thuringia!" The phrase reminds one of an SA slogan, for which Hoecke has already been sentenced to fines by two courts. Both judgments are not yet legally binding.
Nazi ideology disseminated
According to "Welt" research, Langheinrich disseminated Nazi ideology and published texts in the NS newspaper "Volkischer Beobachter." About Hitler, he wrote in the magazine "Das Bayerland," he had "cleansed the nest of the art Bolshevism plague." "Welt" reports that it has seen several texts by Langheinrich in the Berlin Art Library in the past week.
- The Buchenwald Memorial Site in Thuringia is concerned about the increasing displays of National Socialism from the local branch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
- Jens-Christian Wagner, the director of the Buchenwald Memorial Site, has criticized the AfD for what he sees as their growing embrace of Nazi ideology.
- Wagner has pointed to a quote shared by Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke on Telegram as evidence of their association with National Socialism.
- The quote, from publisher Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, is considered an open Nazi reference by Wagner, who is a historian and professor at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.
- Moeller van den Bruck, who died in 1925, is considered a forerunner of National Socialism by Wagner, who sees his writings as an influential precursor to the Nazi Party.
- The Thuringian AfD has denied Wagner's allegations, calling them "grotesque" and based on "constructed connections and guilt by association."
- Höcke has previously been fined for using an SA slogan, which is also featured on the cover of the AfD's election program for the autumn landtag election in Erfurt.
- The AfD's election program also includes a folk song by Franz Langheinrich, who wrote for the art magazine "Das Bild" in the 1930s and is known for his anti-Semitic views.
- According to research by "Welt," Langheinrich disseminated Nazi ideology and published texts in the NS newspaper "Volkischer Beobachter," further fueling concerns about the AfD's association with National Socialism.
