As the world remembers Auschwitz, the German far-right has pushed back against the country’s tradition of Holocaust remembrance, now with the support of American tech billionaire Elon Musk.
“I think there’s too much focus on past crime and we need to move on from that,” an ally of US President Donald Trump told an Alternative for Germany (AfD) rally in a video discussion over the weekend. .
“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their grandparents,” he told supporters of the AfD, an anti-immigration party he has strongly backed ahead of the February 23 election.
Musk’s comments flew in the face of those made by Chancellor Olaf Schulz on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland and the “civilizational collapse” of the Holocaust.
“Every person in our country bears responsibility, regardless of their own family history, regardless of the religion or place of birth of their parents or grandparents,” Scholes said in a speech.
Musk’s comments were all the more divisive because they came ahead of Monday’s 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where 10 people were killed between 1940 and 1945. More than 100,000 Jews and over 100,000 people were killed.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country is hosting the commemorations, criticized the chants at Saturday’s rally, though he did not name Musk.
“The words we heard from the protagonists of the AfD rally about ‘greater Germany’ and the need to ‘forget German guilt for Nazi crimes’ sounded all too familiar and offensive,” the Polish leader said. wrote On X. “Especially just hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.”
Scholes, who was in Poland for birthday celebrations, replied to Tusk’s message: “I couldn’t agree more, dear Donald.”
‘Historical Amnesia’
The memory of the Nazis’ genocide of the Jews and other atrocities has been a central feature of German politics and society for decades as the country seeks to atone for its past. School children are taught about the Holocaust and German political leaders often declare “never again”.
But the AfD, now polling in second place at around 20 percent, has long sparked controversy by demanding Germany pay for its World War II crimes, including the genocide of six million European Jews. Focus on atonement.
One of its former leaders, Alexander Gauland, once described the Nazi era as just “a blip” in German history.
Last year Bjoern Hoecke, one of the AfD’s most radical leaders, was convicted and fined twice for using a banned Nazi slogan.Alles fuer Deutschland(Everything for Germany).
Despite its popularity, the AfD is unlikely to enter government after the February 23 election, as all mainstream parties have refused to work with him and many Germans were staunch opponents of the party. Tens of thousands of people rallied against the far-right in cities across the country on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the German political establishment is increasingly concerned that far-right ideas are gaining influence.
“Our culture of remembrance faces fundamental challenges,” Culture Minister Claudia Roth said on Monday. “Misinformation, conspiracy theories and hate speech can now spread almost without limit in mainstream social media,” he said.
“This is all the more alarming because there is an increasingly relativist approach and willful historical amnesia in the use of terms and symbols historically associated with the Nazi era,” he said. has been.”
‘Talk to the Survivors’
The Central Council of Jews in Germany is concerned that the number of Nazi-era witnesses remains low, and has called for measures to increase visits to “Nazi crime” sites.
Last week, the group’s president, Joseph Schuster, criticized the “propaganda” against the commemorative culture. He lamented that the AfD, the parliamentary arm of this propaganda, already has seats in regional parliaments and the Bundestag.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a speech at Auschwitz on Monday AFP: “I don’t think Musk is waiting for my advice. But my belief remains, our responsibility has no end point.
“What happened here, in this place and in many other camps during the Nazi persecution, is part of our history, and therefore part of our identity that we must deal with,” he added.
“Those who think you can draw a line under that, I suggest they come here and talk to survivors.”
