AfD Staff in Saxony-Anhalt Linked to Banned Neo-Nazi Group
Four senior staff members of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt were previously active in the Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend (HDJ), a neo-Nazi organization banned in 2009. The HDJ was prohibited by the Federal Ministry of the Interior for its ideological influence on children and youth through the dissemination of ethnic, racist, nationalist, and National Socialist views. The organization aimed to form cadres that would have a lifelong impact. The AfD's top candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, faces questions about these connections. The HDJ has been banned for 17 years, but its self-image reveals an organization whose goal was to spread its worldview beyond its own ranks. The article raises concerns about whether these individuals still adhere to the group's ideology.
Key facts
- Four senior AfD staff in Saxony-Anhalt were members of the banned neo-Nazi group HDJ.
- The HDJ was banned in 2009 by the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
- The ban was due to the group's ideological influence on children and youth with ethnic, racist, nationalist, and National Socialist views.
- The HDJ aimed to form cadres with lifelong influence.
- Ulrich Siegmund is the AfD's top candidate in Saxony-Anhalt.
- Siegmund is confronted with questions about his staff's past.
- The HDJ has been banned for 17 years.
- The organization's self-image shows it intended to spread its worldview beyond its own ranks.
Entities
Institutions
- AfD
- Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend (HDJ)
- Bundesministerium des Innern
Locations
- Sachsen-Anhalt
- Germany