Anyone who watches the news, reads a newspaper or has the slightest interest in politics is not surprised by the results of Sunday’s state elections in Thuringia and Saxony. The »Alternative für Deutschland« (AfD) became the strongest party in Thuringia, and it almost topped the poll in Saxony. This was an obvious dam break. For the first time since 1945, a German far-right party has now become a dominant political force.
I feel incredible anger, sadness and, above all, there is incomprehension. People who were once harassed by the »Stasi«, the East German state security, who had their children taken away from them for not showing allegiance to the communist regime, and who were imprisoned for the same reason, now voted for a totalitarian and anti-democratic party in large numbers.
However, the rise of right-wing extremists and populists is not limited to the eastern part of Germany. It is a widespread phenomenon and can be seen almost anywhere in Europe. In Austria, the far-right FPÖ is currently leading in the polls – not for the first time. In my old homeland, Slovakia, a fascist prime minister is in power. The shift to the right is sweeping across Europe.
Even the United States is not immune. In the area of former West Germany, the AfD has reached levels that nobody would have believed only a few years ago. How did we get here? Trying to look at it from a psychoanalytical perspective, I think one of the reasons is that people in former East Germany have not come to terms with their history – not with the Nazi era and not the communist GDR afterwards.
Frightening Prospect
Maybe, some of the hatred and shame is being passed on to the younger generation. How else could we explain the fact that younger people, those who were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, have voted for right-wing populist and far-right parties disproportionately? This issue was definitely not caused by a lack of education.
I sometimes ask myself what good it has done that we survivors have gone into schools to speak about our experience. What was the point of covering the Nazi era and the Holocaust extensively in history lessons? In Bavaria, we have a program for ninth-grade students who also visit the former Dachau concentration camp. And yet, the number of antisemitic incidents recorded continues to skyrocket.
All those explanations do not really add up. Of course, we should not generalize. But it is difficult not to give up hope.
The truth is: Voting for the AfD leads to more antisemitism and ›Germanism‹. My fear is that what happened in Slovakia might also happen in Germany. Once a far-right party is in the government, democracy and everything else democrats stand for will be dismantled, bit by bit. That is a frightening prospect.
Fascists and Racists
I cannot emphasise this often enough: The AfD is not a democratic party. The AfD is a party supported by fascists and racists. I am afraid that sooner or later, the AfD might come to power. If not on its own, it might govern as part of a coalition. If does not happen now, it still might in a few years’ time. The »cordon sanitaire« is slowly coming down.
Thuringia in particular looks downright ungovernable. Bodo Ramelow, the state’s prime minister since 2014 and a very decent man, was swept out of office with the active assistance of Sahra Wagenknecht and her new anti-Western BSW party, which shares many convictions with the AfD.
The thought that the AfD could get into power should frighten all of us. If that happens, antisemitism, the oldest kind of hatred, will come to the forefront again. It was subdued for a while, but has never really been gone.
While the right-wing extremists dream of a U-turn in regard to the politics of remembrance, and leading AfD politicians condone the crimes of Hitler’s »Wehrmacht«, the radical left on the other end of the political spectrum, and members of the migrant milieu, burn the Israeli flag with the Star of David again, right in the center of Berlin. It is a very toxic cocktail, and seeing it happen takes my breath away. I would not have thought this is possible.
Nobody Cares
Björn Höcke and Alice Weidel, the AfD’s leaders, are not saying anything new. They are telling the very same horror stories that were told before. And it seems to be working once again.
No, I have not packed my suitcases. The reason is very simple: I don’t know where to go. I have always been an optimist, but how can you be one today? Not even America looks like a good option anymore.
Of course, antisemitism doesn’t only come from the right, but from all directions. It oozes out of every crack. Nobody is holding it back anymore. Today’s climate is favorable for Jew-hatred. You can openly berate Israel, you can call the IDF »child murderers«, and there are hardly any consequences.
Hamas, the actual aggressors of October 7th, can be hushed up, and still nobody cares. It is precisely this sort of situation we Shoah survivors have always feared. It is our fear that everything could happen all over again.
Hearts and Minds
Hate is a destructive emotion. When you harbour hate, there is not much room for positive feelings. As a survivor, I would have had every reason to hate »the Germans«, but I don’t. Hate is for weak. I don’t want to be weak.
Nevertheless, with nearly a third of the vote in Saxony and Thuringia going to a far-right party, I don’t have the luxury of giving up, even when everything seems hopeless. Because, as Bodo Ramelow said the other day, we have to fight for the hearts and minds of other two thirds of the population.
The author is a Holocaust survivor and still works as a psychotherapist in Munich.
