For the first time in Austria’s history, the Freedom Party of Austria (fpö) won the national election. However, the winning candidate, Herbert Kickl, may not be Austria’s next chancellor, or even be tasked to form a government.

Kickl won the election by opposing the current government’s immigration, coronavirus, foreign, climate and anti-family policies. The fpö also won despite, or because of, its associations with Austria’s darkest chapter—when it joined Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. For this reason, the party’s victory is a dangerous sign for all of Europe.

While far-right parties are rising across Europe, the fpö is one of few with actual government experience. Yet the first time it entered a government coalition in 2000, every European Union member state, along with Israel, imposed a diplomatic boycott on Austria.

A few years later, the uproar waned; after the refugee crises in 2015–16, the fpö rose again. Sebastian Kurz from Austria’s People’s Party (övp) halted its rise and entered a coalition that lasted less than two years. Since then, the övp governed with the Green Party throughout the pandemic years, and Kurz was forced to leave politics over various scandals. As a result, the övp sank in popularity and the fpö rose dramatically. In the election on September 29, it received 29.2 percent of the vote, followed by the övp (26.5 percent), the Social Democrats (21 percent), the Neos (9 percent) and the Greens (8 percent).

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer hasn’t ruled out a coalition with the fpö, but he opposes Kickl. “I have always said, with Herbert Kickl, who believes in conspiracy theories, who accuses the [World Health Organization] of being the next world government and the meeting in Davos of being a preparatory meeting for world domination, you can’t run a state sensibly and responsibly with him. And I still stand by that,” he said.

Apparently, criticizing the horrendous coronavirus policies is a deal-breaker, but continuing the legacy of SS officers is not.

Troubling History

The fpö was founded in 1956. Its first two chairmen were former SS officers Anton Reinthaller (1956–58) and Friedrich Peter (1958–78).

Recent leaders of the party have a similar troubling history. Heinz-Christian Strache, who led the fpö into a coalition with Kurz in 2017, was arrested in Germany in 1989 for taking part in a neo-Nazi rally and photographed posing with guns alongside known neo-Nazis.

Kickl also doesn’t avoid those associations. His goal is to become the Volkskanzler (people’s chancellor). The term officially made it into the German dictionary in 1941 defined as: “Term for Hitler to express the bond between the people and the Führer.” After winning power, Hitler preferred the term führer.

Hitler was born in Austria, where he developed a deep disdain for Jews by consuming anti-Semitic literature. Later, he lamented society’s plagues in his book Mein Kampf and saw a solution in the history of the Holy Roman Empire and its persecution of the Jews.

Many in Austria celebrated Hitler’s rise. After the nation joined Germany in 1938, it became a stronghold for Nazi ideology and SS leaders. But following Hitler’s defeat, Austria was treated more as a victim than an accomplice. Austrians today are less ashamed of their historic role—a sign of grave trouble for the future.

Troubling Future

The rise of the far right is not Europe’s only danger. Europe’s dictatorial measures during the overhyped pandemic were just as dangerous to democracy, as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained in “Coronavirus and the Holy Roman Empire.” Equally dangerous is the rise of radical Islam in Europe and its alliance with the political far-left against Israel, as well as the destructive, authoritarian “green” policies.

But what makes the rise of the far right so dangerous is that it echoes past evil. Far-right parties are looking to the history of the Holy Roman Empire to establish their cultural identity. They reject migrants, not just because of the problems related to immigration, but due to a fear of losing their cultural identity. They often talk about reestablishing a “Christian” Europe and use Christian symbols or references. But the Holy Roman Empire persecuted, tortured and killed anyone who rejected the Roman Catholic Faith—Muslims, Jews and even Protestants.

During the Spanish Inquisition, the Habsburg Dynasty, ruling from Vienna, Austria, ordered the mass killings of heretics.

Looking to that history, Hitler brought the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire from Vienna to Nuremberg, just after annexing Austria in 1938 and just before sending Jews to death camps. This wasn’t a coincidence, as Mr. Flurry explains in Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

Few realize it, but the Bible reveals in Revelation 17 that Hitler reestablished the rule of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe. It also foretells that this same empire would rise in our day.

It also shows the primary danger of this empire. In this prophetic vision, the Apostle John saw a beast, representing an empire (Daniel 7) that would rise seven times and be controlled by a woman representing a church. The context reveals this empire is led by a false church that opposes God’s true church and will fight Jesus Christ at His return (Revelation 17:14). The context of the chapter is clearly for the end time.

Due to these prophecies, we expect the rise of a radical religious element in Europe. More and more people will embrace the Continent’s history and persecute the very people who worship God. Thankfully, the prophecy has a very positive, hope-filled conclusion. Read more about it in Mr. Flurry’s booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.