Alarming Incidents in Germany

Over the past few weeks, several alarming incidents have occurred in Germany. For starters, Alexander Gauland, the leader of the far-right German political party known as Alternative for Germany (AfD), wrote a newspaper article which, according to reputable historians, mirrors a speech written by Adolf Hitler.

In his recent article, written for the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Gauland called out a “globalized class” which he believes poses a threat to Germany. He stated that this class “live[s] almost exclusively in big cities, speak[s] fluent English, and when they move from Berlin to London or Singapore for jobs, they find similar flats, houses, restaurants, shops and private schools everywhere.” Moreover, he argued that this class refuses to integrate themselves into society and almost exclusively socializes amongst their own class. The leader of the AfD further explained that if nothing is done, this class will endanger “what makes our country and our continent worth living in.”

German historian Wolfgang Benz, who led the Center for Research on Antisemitism, wrote an article in the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, which compared and contrasted Gauland’s article with Hitler’s 1933 speech. Essentially, Hitler argued in his 1933 that an “international clique” was infiltrating German life and tearing Germany apart.

Benz concluded that while Gauland’s article does not plagiarize Hitler’s speech, its ideas are similar and “it’s a paraphrase that looks as if the AfD head had the Führer’s speech from 1933 on his desk when he was writing his column for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.”

The leader of the AfD has denied the accusations put forth against him, according to Der Tagesspiegel.

On a different note, the premier of a Holocaust film, The Testament, was disrupted on October 4th by activists promoting the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

The Testament, a film about a Holocaust researcher who discovers a family secret, premiered in Germany at the first night of the 2018 SERET Israeli film and television festival. During the movie, two people walked to the front of the theatre and held a banner which stated “No culture in whitewashing Apartheid.” Both of these individuals were soon escorted out of the theatre.

Through analyzing the footage of the disruption, The Jerusalem Post concluded that one of the activists was Ronnie Barkan, an anti-Zionist from Israel. The director of Babylon Cinema, Timothy Grossman, told the Jerusalem Post he intends to file criminal charges against both individuals.