Pauline von Pezold and Frederik Schindler report exclusively on a 2020 photo that could trouble AfD Bundestag member and Saxony-Anhalt state head Martin Reichardt. The image shows Reichardt performing a Hitler salute during the ceremonial submission of a membership application, according to witnesses. While the state association and Reichardt dismiss the scene as a harmless “knighting” and humorous “joke,” investigations reveal contradictory timelines in this explanation. The photo can be viewed here.
Additionally, the pair discuss the party’s vastly different stances on the national football team. While leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla publicly distance themselves from ethnic remarks, other officials like Björn Höcke continue to make openly racist statements regarding national players’ skin color and origin. Court rulings indicate such remarks support classifying the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist entity.
Von Pezold and Schindler highlight the AfD’s contradictory view of the DDR past and the Stasi. Despite party leaders often casting the modern constitutional protection agency as “Stasi spies,” a member recently met former DDR State Council Chairman Egon Krenz, and a Brandenburg report shows several AfD regional parliament members have documented Stasi ties.
“Inside AfD” is POLITICO’s podcast on Germany’s most controversial party. Despite its radicalization and surveillance by the authorities, the AfD continues to grow. How is this possible? What motivates its followers, strategists, and opponents? How does the party function internally? What does its rise mean for Germany’s political system?
Answers are provided every Wednesday by Pauline von Pezold from POLITICO and Frederik Schindler from WELT — calmly but critically.
For questions and feedback, contact [email protected].
POLITICO Deutschland – an Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH offering
Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin
Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0
[email protected]
Registry: Berlin-Charlottenburg District Court, HRB 196159 B
VAT-ID: DE 214 852 390
Managing Directors: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna
Leave a Reply