‘Everything for Germany’: AfD Member on Trial Again for Nazi Slogan

Björn Höcke, senior member of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), went on trial Monday for using a Nazi phrase during a party gathering in his home province of Thuringia last December.

Höcke has been accused of saying, “Everything for …,” pausing for the audience to complete the phrase by shouting: “Germany!” That three-word phrase is forbidden in Germany because Nazi storm troopers used the same slogan in the 1930s.

Track record: Last month, Höcke was fined $14,000 by the same court for closing a 2021 campaign speech with the same phrase. Höcke, a former history teacher, argued it was an “everyday saying” and maintained that he was unaware that the banned slogan was associated with Nazism.

In a 2017 speech, Höcke said that German attempts to commemorate and apologize for World War ii are a “stupid coping policy.” He criticized the Holocaust memorial in Berlin, saying the Germans are “the only people in the world who planted a memorial of shame in the heart of their capital.”

In 2019, a court ruled he could justifiably be called a “fascist” for his views.

Nazism rising: Other prominent AfD politicians have expressed similar views. Nevertheless, the party is gaining more popularity as many Germans are increasingly dissatisfied with their current government and are eager for change, including new leadership that is unafraid to violate postwar taboos.

Today, the AfD is Thuringia’s most popular party with 30 percent support. Nationally, the party is polling second at about 18 percent.

This rightward shift in Germany is alarming, but the Bible prophesied of this trend. To learn more, read “Nazism Rises Again in Germany.”