Success of German far-right party in EU election has many Jews hearing echoes of Nazi past [View all]

[RandySF]

BERLIN — The success of German extremists in Sunday’s European Parliament election has mainstream Jewish leaders and politicians worried. Some say they fear the country is veering into political territory that resembles the era just before the rise of the Nazis here nearly a century ago.

The strong showing for far-right parties reflects worries about increasing numbers of Muslim refugees since 2015 in Germany. The Alternative for Germany Party stresses isolationism, takes an anti-EU and pro-Russian stance, and is accused of fomenting anti-Muslim sentiment. Some of its most extreme representatives have also belittled the Holocaust, saying that Germany has paid enough penance for the sins of an older generation.

Mainstream Jewish leaders raised the alarm about AfD soon after it was founded in 2013, and their concern has grown with each new success of the party on the local, national and international levels.

Now, “the fact that right-wing and left-wing populist parties received a fifth of the votes in the European Parliament elections in Germany should give all democratic forces pause,” Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said in a statement after the election on Monday.





https://www.jta.org/2024/06/11/global/success-of-german-far-right-party-in-eu-election-has-many-jews-hearing-echoes-of-nazi-past