The far-right AfD party’s July 3-4 congress in Erfurt coincides with the 1926 Nazi rally date, sparking controversy.
Controversial Timing
The nationwide congress of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), planned for July 3-4 in Erfurt, is facing growing criticism. The date, exactly 100 years after the 1926 rally of the Nazi NSDAP party in Weimar, has sparked outrage among politicians and historians.
Deliberate Symbolic Act
Jörg Ganzenmüller, director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Totalitarianism Research, described the timing as a “conscious symbolic act.” The AfD is sending signals of solidarity with the far-right while publicly maintaining a facade of ignorance about history, he stated.
State Secretary in the German Foreign Ministry Serap Güler agreed: “The consciously chosen analogy once again shows what spirit drives the AfD. The AfD knows exactly what it is doing.”
Provocation Accusations
Longtime Social Democratic faction leader Rolf Mützenich accused the AfD of “deliberate provocations” aimed at “attracting attention.” Whoever chooses such a date must be aware of its historical significance, he said.
The Weimar Republic Association also pointed to the “fatal coincidence” of the date, with its president Stephan Zänker stating this “causes concern.”
Historical Context
The 1926 NSDAP rally is considered by historians to be a turning point for the nationalist movement. Party leader Adolf Hitler and his supporters then demonstratively entered the German National Theatre in Weimar.
AfD Response
The AfD rejected criticism of the timing. Spokesman Stefan Möller stated that those seeing similarities between the events are “only interested in the forced instrumentalization of history.”
