Thuringian AfD state chairman Björn Höcke confirms the demand for the dissolution of the European Union

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Der AfD-Landesvorsitzende von Thüringen, Björn Höcke, hat erneut seine Forderung nach der Auflösung der Europäischen Union bekräftigt. In einem Interview mit dem Fernsehsender Phoenix erklärte Höcke: „Diese EU muss sterben, damit das wahre Europa leben kann“. Er selbst ordnete diese Forderung als populistisch ein. Der Historiker Matthias Wehowski kritisierte Höckes Aussage und bezeichnete seine Wortwahl als „völkisch-schwurbelige Sprache“. Wehowski wies darauf hin, dass diese Sprache an die NSDAP-Zeitung „Völkischer Beobachter“ erinnere. Als Beleg postete er ein Foto einer Titelseite des „Völkischen Beobachters“, auf der die Durchhalteparole der Nationalsozialisten „Sie starben, damit Deutschland lebe“ zu sehen ist. Diese Parole wurde verwendet, …
The AfD state chairman of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has again confirmed his demand for the dissolution of the European Union. In an interview with the television station Phoenix, Höcke said: "This EU must die so that true Europe can live". He himself ordered this demand as populist. The historian Matthias Wehowski criticized Höcke's statement and described his choice of words as "ethnic-swell-like language". Wehowski pointed out that this language is reminiscent of the NSDAP newspaper "Völkischer Observers". As an evidence, he posted a photo of a front page of the "Völkisches Observer", on which the perseverance slogan of the National Socialists "died so that Germany can be seen". This slogan was used ... (Symbolbild/MB)

The AfD state chairman of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has again confirmed his demand for the dissolution of the European Union. In an interview with the television station Phoenix, Höcke said: "This EU must die so that true Europe can live". He himself ordered this requirement as populist.

The historian Matthias Wehowski criticized Höcke's statement and described his choice of words as "ethnic-swell-like language". Wehowski pointed out that this language is reminiscent of the NSDAP newspaper "Völkischer Observers". As an evidence, he posted a photo of a front page of the "Völkisches Observer", on which the perseverance slogan of the National Socialists "died so that Germany can be seen". This slogan was used after the German war of extermination in Stalingrad had come to a standstill.

According to Wehowski, the saying goes back to the poet Heinrich Lersch, who had known himself in 1933 as a Hitler deletion and became a member of the NSDAP. The "Völkische Observer" had honored Lersch in an obituary. Wehowski also explained that the saying was also taken up by punk bands such as "Slime", but in reverse form: "Germany must die so that we can live". Höcke now brings the saying back to his "national-national" origin and connects it to the enemy image of EU. Wehowski described this as "pathos and ethnic kitsch".

It is not the first time that Höcke uses the Nazi rhetoric. At a rally in Merseburg, he used the sentence "Everything for Germany!", Which was a battle cry of the SA and which is banned in Germany. The public prosecutor therefore raised charges against Höcke.

The linguist Heidrun Kämper from the Institute for German Language in Mannheim does not see any coincidences in the use of such language in the AfD. It described terms such as "traitors", "folk body", "foreign" and "alienation" as alluding to the Nazi era. This shows that the AfD consciously deals with the Nazi era and such statements are strategically used.

Björn Höcke is a prominent representative of the extremely right wing of the AfD and the state chairman of the AfD in Thuringia. The Thuringian Protection of the Constitution has classified the AfD regional association under Höcke as right -wing extremist since 2021 due to attacks on the rule of law, violations of the principle of democracy and history revisionism. Höcke also confirmed that he offered Sahra Wagenknecht to enter his party and sees intersection between AfD and the left in foreign policy.