A trial against AfD leader Björn Höcke started on Thursday in Halle, in eastern Germany. In the run-up to regional elections that are important for the party, the radical firebrand must answer for the use of a Nazi slogan.
Thursday April 18, 2024 at 2:25 PM
During an election meeting at the end of May 2021, in Merseburg, not far from Halle, Höcke is said to have proclaimed “Everything for our homeland, everything for Saxony-Anhalt, everything for Germany”. The Nazi paramilitary Sturmabteilung also used the slogan “Alles für Deutschland”.
His lawyers will argue that Höcke did not know that the text was banned. In an interview, Höcke, who taught history in a secondary school for 15 years, also said that he did not know the origin of the slogan. The prosecutors believe that Höcke did know the origin and meaning.
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The use of Nazi slogans or the public display of symbols of Nazi Germany is prohibited in Germany. Violations carry up to three years in prison. The process is expected to take more than a month.
During an AfD meeting in December, Höcke repeated himself. He said “Alles für”, and had the audience add “Deutschland”.
Elections
Höcke hopes to bring his party to power for the first time at state level in the elections in the neighboring state of Thuringia on September 1. The party made significant progress in the polls last summer, but a leading candidate in the European elections was recently accused of receiving money from a Russian-funded propaganda network.
At the same time as Thuringia, Saxony is also going to the polls, and later in September Brandenburg will also elect a new state parliament. The AfD is expected to become the largest party in those three eastern German states.
Due to radical positions, the AfD has been placed under surveillance by the intelligence services in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.
