Germany’s Far-Right Terrorism and AFD

On 19 February 2020, a shooting occurred in 2 shisha bars in the city of Hanau, the Western side of Germany. The suspect has been identified as Tobias R, who killed himself and his mother after conducting the attack. The attack itself killed 9 people, 5 of which were Turkish citizens. Authorities stated that the suspect was a far-right extremist and that the motive behind the attack was racism, as a self-made racist manifesto was found amongst items left behind by the suspect. In June 2019, a politician from CDU Party, Walter Lubcke, who was famous for his pro-refugee rhetoric, was shot dead by a neo-nazi. In October 2019, another neo-nazi tried to carry out a massacre in a Synagogue with a home-made 3D printed weapon. He failed to break into the synagogue and ended up killing 2 civilian passers-by in frustration. In 2016, a far-right extremist carried out a mass shooting in Munich which targeted teenagers of non-German background. The terror attack ended up killing 9 people. Since 1990, Far-Right Terrorism in Germany is responsible for 208 deaths. Between 2016 and 2018 alone, Far-Right violence in Germany has far outstripped elsewhere in Western Europe with more than 60 incidents having occurred in Germany. Greece, which is in second place, experienced around 20 incidents, which is considered far less compared to Germany. People across Germany have pointed their fingers to one culprit for this phenomenon, the rise of the Far-Right Political Party, AFD (Alternative für Deutschland).

AFD is a far-right political party in Germany which has been using anti-refugee rhetoric and promoting islamophobia for their campaign. It is currently the biggest opposition party in Germany, holding 89 seats in the Bundestag parliament. The green party has identified AFD as a “political arm of hate”. However officials have been unable to directly link AFD with Far-Right terrorism since the party has always condemned any terror which has occurred in Germany. However, the party leaders have been known to refuse the fact that the terror perpetrators were influenced by far-right rhetoric, calling all of them disturbed individuals with psychological problems as the reason behind their actions. Political campaigns conducted by AFD have been using language which many politicians consider as being responsible for creating hate towards immigrants and Muslims. For example, AFD politicians have been calling migrant workers in Germany by using term “trash” and have positioned the AFD as a party which will dispose of those “trash”. AFD has also been describing Muslim migrants using the term “headscarf girls”, “well-fare supported knifemen”, and “other good-for-nothings”.

the AFD is believed to possess an enormous danger to bringing Germany back to Far-Right ideas. Support for AFD has been rising, varying from 10%-15% in opinion polls. Currently, the AFD might have no opportunity to directly enter the government, since all other large parties have been refusing to form a coalition with AFD. However, Germany’s current largest party, which is also the party of Chancellor Merkel, CDU, has been divided by faction for years. Since Angela Merkel’s term will end next year, the right-wing faction in CDU has been preparing to take control of the party from the centrist faction. The right-wing faction within CDU has been known for disobeying the party’s orders, including indirectly cooperating with the AFD in regional areas. If the right-wing faction takes control of the CDU after Merkel’s term ends, it is highly likely that the CDU will be eager to cooperate with the AFD in a direct manner within the national level.