{"id":29271,"date":"2024-04-18T04:30:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T04:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/18\/german-far-right-leader-goes-on-trial-for-nazi-slogans\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T04:30:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T04:30:02","slug":"german-far-right-leader-goes-on-trial-for-nazi-slogans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/18\/german-far-right-leader-goes-on-trial-for-nazi-slogans\/","title":{"rendered":"German Far-Right Leader Goes on Trial for Nazi Slogans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/18\/multimedia\/18germany-right-01-hlzf\/18germany-right-01-hlzf-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"German Far-Right Leader Goes on Trial for Nazi Slogans\" title=\"German Far-Right Leader Goes on Trial for Nazi Slogans\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One of Germany\u2019s most prominent far-right leaders, Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke, stands trial on Thursday, facing charges of using banned Nazi slogans at political rallies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Using National Socialist slogans and symbols is a punishable crime in Germany, which, because of the legacy of Hitler\u2019s rise to power, has a far more restrictive approach to free speech compared to democracies like the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. H\u00f6cke heads the far-right Alternative for Germany, known by its German abbreviation, AfD, in the state of Thuringia. Both he and the state branch he leads have been classified by domestic intelligence as right-wing extremist and are under surveillance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He is facing trial for using the slogan \u201cEverything for Germany\u201d at a speech in the eastern state of Saxony, where he is being put on trial. It was the slogan of the National Socialist paramilitary group, or Storm Troopers, and was engraved on their knives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. H\u00f6cke has said he did not know the phrase was a Nazi slogan. But critics have insisted that argument is not credible, given he was a history teacher before he became a politician. And they note that AfD politicians in two other states have already been stopped by authorities in past years for using the slogan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The trial will take place in the city of Halle, at the state\u2019s highest court and is expected to last until May 14. If found guilty, Mr. H\u00f6cke could face a short prison term or a fine. The court could also decide to temporarily revoke his right to vote and run in elections. Such a decision would be a major blow during a pivotal election year in Germany, in which Mr. H\u00f6cke and the AfD are expected to gain the largest share of votes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In all three eastern German states holding elections later this year, the AfD is the most <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wahlrecht.de\/umfragen\/landtage\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">popular<\/a> party. And nationwide, it is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wahlrecht.de\/umfragen\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">polling<\/a> better than any of the three governing parties, in spite of nationwide mass <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/20\/world\/europe\/far-right-germany-fear.html\" title=\"\">protests<\/a> that erupted after an investigative report revealed some AfD members had attended a secretive conference to discuss deporting immigrants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The AfD\u2019s latest resurgence started last <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/20\/world\/europe\/germany-far-right-afd-comeback.html\" title=\"\">spring<\/a>, when it benefited from anxieties over rising migration and frustration with the government\u2019s poor handling of the country\u2019s stagnating economy. Chancellor Olaf Scholz\u2019s governing coalition looked weak and divided throughout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although it remains unlikely that the AfD would be able to take power in one of the three states, Mr. H\u00f6cke has become one of the most influential members of his party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts say that Mr. H\u00f6cke \u2014 a politician so right-wing that a court deemed it acceptable to call him <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/politik\/deutschland\/bjoern-hoecke-darf-als-faschist-bezeichnet-werden-gerichtsurteil-zu-eisenach-a-1289131.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">fascist<\/a> \u2014 has not only succeeded in pushing his own party farther right, but also the broader political debate, particularly on issues such as migration. Germany\u2019s biggest party, the conservative Christian Democrats, for example, has taken an increasingly hostile stance toward immigration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mainstream parties across the political spectrum have long vowed not to work with the AfD, and many are now looking for legal avenues to curb the party\u2019s influence in ways that have sparked <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/13\/world\/europe\/germany-far-right-government.html\" title=\"\">debate<\/a> around how far a democracy can act against forces that undermine it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">AfD leaders like Mr. H\u00f6cke argue that they have become victims of state institutions abusing their power to silence them. He recently published comments on social media in English that attracted the interest of Elon Musk, who <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1776669300822282382\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">asked<\/a> why the slogan he used was illegal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBecause every patriot in Germany is defamed as a Nazi, as Germany has legal texts in its criminal code not found in any other democracy,\u201d he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BjoernHoecke\/status\/1776674144773349466\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a> in response. \u201cThese aim to prevent Germany from finding itself again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A skilled orator, Mr. H\u00f6cke has often tried to reintroduce words and slogans associated with the Third Reich, in what analysts describe as a twofold strategy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s not random \u2014 it\u2019s well chosen,\u201d said Johannes Hillje, a German political scientist who studies the AfD.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Such terms can serve as a kind of dog whistle to more extreme right-wing supporters, he said. At the same time, Mr. H\u00f6cke chooses slogans that seem relatively banal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a televised debate last week, Mr. H\u00f6cke had insisted the slogan he was being prosecuted for was so common that it had been used in an advertisement by Germany\u2019s main telephone operator, Deutsche Telekom. (The company denies this and issued a cease-and-desist order against Mr. H\u00f6cke.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nonetheless, Mr. Hillje said, the effect is to make state institutions seem biased against the AfD because it is an anti-establishment force.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt allows him to play the victim, and this works well for him and for his supporters, because they also feel like victims,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Prosecutors last week successfully added a second charge against Mr. H\u00f6cke in the trial. After facing charges for his initial use of the slogan, he teased the chant at another political rally, shouting to the crowd \u201cEverything for \u2014\u201d and letting supporters shout the last word, \u201cGermany!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The trial is expected to draw large crowds of protesters both for and against the AfD.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. H\u00f6cke called on his supporters to come to his trial in a statement on social media: \u201cI invite you to come to Halle and witness firsthand the state of civil rights, democracy and the rule of law in Germany,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/18\/world\/europe\/german-far-right-hocke-trial.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of Germany\u2019s most prominent far-right leaders, Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke, stands trial on Thursday, facing charges of using banned Nazi slogans at political rallies. Using National Socialist slogans and symbols is a punishable crime in Germany, which, because of the legacy of Hitler\u2019s rise to power, has a far more restrictive approach to free speech compared [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/18\/multimedia\/18germany-right-01-hlzf\/18germany-right-01-hlzf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[724,10563,1891,11331,14407,6230],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29271"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29273,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29271\/revisions\/29273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}