Höcke allowed to stay in AfD despite Holocaust remark
May 9, 2018
Björn Höcke will be allowed to remain a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, an arbitration tribunal has ruled. Höcke claimed last year that Germany was "crippled" by its "stupid" politics of remembrance.
Image: imago/Steve Bauerschmidt
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Björn Höcke, the head of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the state of Thuringia, should not be ousted from the far-right party over remarks he made about the Holocaust, an AfD arbitration court ruled on Wednesday.
The tribunal dismissed the motion filed last year by the AfD's federal executive committee, which claimed that Höcke had demonstrated an "affinity to National Socialism" during a speech to the party's youth wing in January 2017. The court said the claims were unfounded and that Höcke had not intentionally violated the party's values.
In his speech, Höcke chided Germany's commemoration of its Holocaust crimes, saying that "these stupid politics of coming to grips with the past cripple us."
The right-wing lawmaker went on to call for "nothing other than a 180-degree reversal on the politics of remembrance." Referring to Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Höcke added: "We Germans, that is to say, our people, are the only people in the world who have planted a monument of shame in the heart of their capital."
The motion against Höcke was filed by the AfD's old executive under then party leader Frauke Petry, who openly called for the disgraced lawmaker to be expelled.
However, Alexander Gauland and Jörg Meuthen, who now preside over the AfD's national executive, have since come out in defense of Höcke. Speaking after the tribunal decision, Gauland only said it was now up to federal executive committee to discuss whether to appeal the verdict. However, party sources told Germany's DPA news agency that the party leadership is unlikely to take the case before the Federal Court of Arbitration, let alone even discuss it when it meets next month.
Stefan Möller, Höcke's spokesperson, said he hoped the federal committee would accept the tribunal's verdict and ultimately put an end to the party infighting that defined the "Petry-era."
Opposition lawmakers irate by verdict
Politicians in Germany responded to the AfD's tribunal with outrage.
"Why would this party exclude someone whose nationalist, racist, anti-Semitic and ethnic slogans are the spiritual foundation of the AfD?" SPD lawmaker Burkhard Lischka said. The arbitration court's decision underlined the fact that "the AfD is dependent on guys like Höcke."
The deputy chairman of the Green Party's parliamentary group, Konstantin von Notz, said the decision demonstrated how the AfD's contingent of "ethnic nationalists" was becoming increasingly extremist and influential within the party. "This is a very serious development, which those who seek to defend democracy and rule of law must keep a close eye on," Notz said.
The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany's new parliamentary representatives
After the 2017 election, the far-right populist party enters the Bundestag for the first time. But who exactly are some of the Alternative for Germany's representatives — and what have they said and done?
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/E. Contini
Siegbert Droese
The head of the AfD in Leipzig was the center of controversy in 2016 when newspapers reported that a car in his motor pool had the license plate: "AH 1818." "AH" are the initials of Adolf Hitler. 1 and 8, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, are considered a code for Adolf Hitler among neo-Nazi groups.
Image: Imago/J. Jeske
Sebastian Münzenmaier
As the AfD's lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 28-year-old Münzenmaier cruised to a seat in the Bundestag. Münzenmaier made headlines in October when he was convicted of being an accessory to assault in a case of football hooliganism. But because that's considered a minor offense, he is able to exercise his mandate.
Image: Imago/S. Ditscher
Albrecht Glaser
The 75-year-old former CDU man is the AfD's choice for Bundestag vice-president, but members of the other parties say they won't approve his candidacy. Glaser once opined that Muslims shouldn't enjoy freedom of religion because Islam is a political ideology. Critics reject that view as unconstitutional.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Markus Frohnmaier
Frohnmaier is the chair of the party's youth organization, Junge Alternative. The 28-year-old wrote in August 2016 on Facebook that "our generation will suffer the most" from Merkel's decision to "flood this country with the shoddy proletariat from Africa and the Orient."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Weißbrod
Martin Reichardt
The former soldier from Lower Saxony once told a journalist that he had no problem with "Germany for the Germans," a phrase that is often used by neo-Nazi groups. He has also collectively described the Green Party and The Left party as "constitutional enemy No. 1."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Bein
Wilhelm von Gottberg
The 77-year-old from Brandenburg was vice president of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) until 2012. He wrote in the newspaper "Ostpreussenblatt" in 2001 that he agreed with the statement that the Holocaust was a "myth" and an "effective instrument to criminalize the Germans and their history."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Brakemeier
Jens Maier
In January, the Dresden judge railed against the "creation of mixed nationalities" that are "destroying national identity." He has also called for an end to Germany's "culture of guilt" surrounding the country's actions in the Second World War.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Beatrix von Storch
The AfD's vice-chair is an MP in the European parliament and is known for her hardline conservative views. In 2016, she replied affirmatively to a Facebook user who had asked her whether armed force should be used to stop women with children from illegally entering Germany. She later apologized for the comment.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Alexander Gauland
One of the AfD's top candidates, Gauland was widely criticized after suggesting that the German government's commissioner for integration, Aydan Özoguz, should be "disposed of" in Turkey because she had said that there was no specifically German culture beyond the German language.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Alice Weidel
The 38-year-old economist was the AfD's other top candidate. Despite living in Switzerland, Weidel ran for the Baden-Württemberg constituency of Bodensee. She drew criticism for describing Germany's integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz, who has Turkish roots, as a "stain" and a "disgrace." In a contested email attributed to Weidel, she called Angela Merkel's government "pigs" and "puppets."
Image: Getty Images/S. Schuermann
Frauke Petry
For a long time Frauke Petry was the face of the AfD, and she's one of the more recognizable figures in the Bundestag. But she's no longer a member of the right-wing populist party. Petry quit shortly after the election after falling out with other leaders. Because she won her voting district outright, she still gets a Bundestag mandate, where she sits as an independent.
