Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is facing criticism for scheduling its party conference in Erfurt on 4-5 July 2026, exactly 100 years after a notorious Nazi rally in nearby Weimar. The 1926 rally marked a milestone for the Nazi party, where the Hitler Youth was named and the Hitler salute was first presented publicly. Critics accuse the AfD of deliberately evoking this dark history.
Stefan Möller, a spokesperson for the AfD's Thuringian chapter, dismissed the comparisons as a 'compulsive weaponisation of history.' However, the party has not explicitly distanced itself from the Nazi legacy, maintaining a strategic ambiguity that observers say fuels both outrage and plausible deniability. The AfD has risen in polls, particularly in Thuringia, where it won the 2024 state election with 38% of the vote, though a 'firewall' by mainstream parties kept it out of government.
Serap Güler, minister of state at the German foreign office, condemned the timing, stating: 'This deliberately chosen anniversary shows yet again in whose image the AfD was made. I'm disgusted by how little decency that party has.' Historians note that Thuringia was a safe haven for the early Nazi movement, and the AfD's flirtation with that legacy has not deterred its supporters. With five state elections scheduled in 2026, the party could achieve its first governing role in Saxony-Anhalt, where it polls just a few points short of an absolute majority.
