2023 Potsdam far-right meeting

Last updated

2023 Potsdam far-right meeting
Potsdam-Neu Fahrland AmLehnitzsee1.JPG
Adlon Mansion at Lake Lehnitz (2013)
Date25 November 2023 (2023-11-25)
VenueAdlon Mansion
Location Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Coordinates 52°26′33″N13°02′55″E / 52.4425°N 13.0485°E / 52.4425; 13.0485
MotiveEstablish a plan on remigration of asylum seekers, foreigners, and foreign-born German citizens
Reporter Correctiv
Organized by
Participants

On 25 November 2023, a group of right-wing extremists met at the Adlon Mansion on Lake Lehnitz in Potsdam, Germany. At the event, Martin Sellner, an Austrian right-wing extremist presented a plan for the deportation (called "remigration" by Sellner) of certain parts of the German populace, namely asylum seekers, foreigners with a residence permit, and "non-assimilated" German citizens. The meeting was attended by members of the German right-wing populist party AfD, the mainstream centre-right party Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Werteunion (a German conservative political association), and the far-right Identitarian movement, among others. The meeting was exposed by the investigative journalism organization Correctiv, which published its findings on 10 January 2024. [1]

Contents

Both the revelations regarding the content of the meeting and the networking between the AfD and other right-wing extremists led to a broad wave of outrage and horror among numerous representatives from German politics, business, and culture; in many German cities, tens of thousands of people protested against the plans discussed at the meeting. What followed was a debate about a possible ban of the AfD and party expulsions of members of the CDU that attended the meeting. [2] Some participants of the Potsdam meeting mounted lawsuits against the report, with its main points however remaining unchallenged as of 1 March 2024. [3]

Meeting

Gernot Mörig and Hans-Christian Limmer  [ de ], of whom Limmer was not present, had invited the guests. Möring was a former leader of the "Freibund", a German youth association associated with the German alt-right movement, before heading the German Patriotic Youth  [ de ] (Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend; HDJ), a far-right and neo-nazi association. Limmer is a former advisor of the Roland Berger consulting firm, who is best known for the 2002 takeover of the BackWerk bakery chain and his investments in the system catering companies Hans im Glück and Pottsalat. The invitation to the meeting announced a "Masterplan" and a speech by Martin Sellner. [1] [4] Participants were also required to donate at least €5,000. [5] The meeting was supposed to stay secret, but Correctiv was able to get a copy of the invitation. With the aid of anonymous sources as well as video footage from inside the hotel, Correctiv successfully reconstructed the contents of the meeting. [1] [4]

According to Correctiv, the 22 attendees included the following people:

Days after the uncovering by Correctiv, news reports based on work by another collective stated that the meeting may already have been the seventh of its kind; a draft letter by Mörig purportedly thanked AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla for his participation in a 2021 meeting. While Chrupalla refused to comment, his participation in the latter meeting was confirmed by other AfD members. [5]

Master plan

Sellner's so-called "master plan for remigration" would entail the relocation of three groups of people from Germany: asylum seekers, foreigners with the right to stay, and "non-assimilated" German citizens. According to Sellner, "tailor-made laws" would have to be used to exert pressure on such residents to assimilate, in order to persuade them to leave the country. The plan is intended to be a "decades[-long] project". [1] Sellner also brought up the idea of a "model state" in North Africa, where up to two million people could be "moved to" and the refugee helpers could follow them. [27]

In this context, Sellner also discussed the concept of so-called "ethnic elections" since, according to him, people with a history of migration tend to vote for "migration-friendly" parties. The report by Correctiv notes that this argument by Sellner, if it were realized, would cast doubt on about 20 million people's right to vote in Germany. [1] The discussed magnitude of millions of people makes it clear as to why some media outlets used the term "deportation plan" to refer the master plan in their reports. [28] Sellner wrote to the news agency DPA that the plan envisioned a special economic zone in North Africa, which would be leased and organized as a model city. The plan included "not only deportations, but also local help, a dominant culture, and pressure to assimilate." [27] According to Ulrich Siegmund, foreign restaurants should disappear from the streetscape, and it should become "unattractive" for the clients of such establishments to live in Saxony-Anhalt.

There was allegedly no criticism of the plan among the participants, but, rather, doubts as to whether it could be implemented. The panel stated that in order to realize the proposed remigration plan, pre-political power should be built up. Money was to be invested in influencer projects, propaganda and campaigns to change the "climate of opinion". [27]

According to Correctiv, there was talk of discrediting the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, casting doubt on democratic elections, and fighting the public media. There were also discussions about influencing young people on social media with content that would be perceived as "normal political theses". [27]

The plan of a "remigration through displacement" is not a new idea. In his book Nie zweimal in denselben Fluss ("never into the same river twice"), published in 2018, Björn Höcke called for a cleansing of "culture-foreign" people in Germany. [29] At an AfD-meeting in December of 2023, he added that one could, without a problem, "also [live] with 20, 30 percent fewer people in Germany", referring to the people to be displaced. [30]

Reactions

Election poster of the AfD Thuringia supporting Remigration(2024) AfD-Wahlplakat "Remigration sofort starten!" in Modlareuth 20240518 HOF3756 RAW-Export.png
Election poster of the AfD Thuringia supporting Remigration(2024)

The revelation of the meeting taking place resulted in mass protests throughout Germany and calls for the AfD to be banned. [31] [32] Groups of thousands of protestors gathered in several German cities, with roughly 100,000 in Munich alone on the weekend of 20 January. [33] Some sources have reported that up to 1.4 million people were involved in the protests in the period 19–21 January. [34] [35]

The AfD dropped slightly in two polls ten days after the protests commenced, [36] with slippage continuing through February, where its standing has since remained. [37] In Austria, the FPÖ scored losses in polls conducted by three different institutes in the period from 12 to 18 January 2024, but retained the lead. [38]

Right wing populism is on the rise all throughout Europe. These modern forms of populism, which are increasingly successful, are heavily founded in anti-migration politics. [39] The AfD received 15,9% in the EU elections - a major win for them, Marine Le Pen, a right-wing populist in France is continuously gaining support, Geert Wilders another right-wing populist has just won the elections in the Netherlands [40] and there are many more examples of the far-right gaining support. As more and more far-right populist parties are gaining power some are moving from a nativist stand-point (leaving the EU or other transnational organizations for example) to working together with other far-right populist parties in said organizations. The goal for many has shifted from leaving the European Union to changing it from within, now that the Radical Right has gained so much support and is able to make many transnational connections. [39] Radical Right Populist parties in the EU share anti-migration, anti-Islam, nationalist and nativist views, as blatantly displayed when Correctiv investigative journalists uncovered the "remigration" plans discussed at the Potsdam Conference. Far right parties of the EU want to hinder migration, maybe even deport or "remigrate" people and the meeting in Potsdam is indicative of these future trends and what may come.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative for Germany</span> Far-right political party in Germany

Alternative for Germany is a far-right and right-wing populist political party in Germany. The AfD is Eurosceptic, and opposes immigration to Germany – especially of Muslims. The German judiciary has classified the party as a "suspected extremist" party, although it does not reject democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Gauland</span> German politician, lawyer and journalist

Eberhardt Alexander Gauland is a German politician, journalist and lawyer who has served as leader of the right-wing political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag since September 2017 and co-leader of the party from December 2017 to November 2019. He has been a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) since September 2017. Gauland was the party's co-founder and was its federal spokesman from 2017 to 2019 and the party leader for the state of Brandenburg from 2013 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Götz Kubitschek</span> German journalist (born 1970)

Götz Kubitschek is a German publisher, journalist and far-right political activist. He espouses ethnocentric positions and is one of the most important protagonists of the Neue Rechte in Germany. Hailing from the staff of right-wing newspaper Junge Freiheit, Kubitschek is one of the founders of the Neue Rechte think tank Institut für Staatspolitik. Since 2002, he is the manager of his self-founded publishing house Antaios, since 2003 chief editor of the journal Sezession, as well as editor of the corresponding blog Sezession im Netz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Sellner</span> Austrian far-right activist (born 1989)

Martin Michael Sellner is an Austrian far-right political activist, and leader of the Identitarian Movement of Austria, which he cofounded in 2012. He is considered to be a key figure in the Neue Rechte in the German-speaking countries. He is also deemed to be part of the alt-right movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kurth (politician)</span> German politician (born 1960)

Peter Kurth is a German politician and lobby-manager who served as State Minister of Finance (Senator) in Berlin from 1999 until 2001. He is active in far-right networks and is supporting neo-facist activities in Germany and Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remigration</span> Forced or promoted return of non-European immigrants

Remigration, also called repatriation, is a far-right and Identitarian political concept referring to the forced or promoted return of non-ethnically European immigrants, often including their descendants who were born in Europe, back to their place of racial origin, typically with no regard for their citizenship. It is popular especially within the Identitarian movement in Europe. Some proponents of remigration suggest excluding some residents with non-European background from such a mass deportation, based on a varyingly-defined degree of assimilation into European culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernd Baumann</span> German politician

Bernd Baumann is a German politician of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and chief whip of the AfD Group who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Hamburg since 2017.

Joana Cotar is a German politician who has been a member of the Bundestag since the 2017 German federal election. Until November 2022, she was a member for the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Roland Hartwig is a German politician for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and member of the Bundestag between 2017 and 2021.

<i>Der Flügel</i> Far-right faction of the Alternative for Germany

Der Flügel is a far-right faction within Germany's Alternative for Germany, a right-wing populist opposition party. The group was led by Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz. Approximately 20 percent of AfD members are organized also in the "Flügel". Following the request by the AfD executive board to dissolve Der Flügel by the end of April 2020, the group's online presence went offline. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has no reliable knowledge of an actual dissolution. Within the party, Der Flügel now calls itself the "social-patriotic faction".

Compact is a German media outlet, based on a monthly magazine. Compact is a popular magazine of the far-right in Germany. It united different right-wing political milieus through strategic topic setting. The magazine was banned on 16 July 2024 in Germany. The ban was lifted on 14 August 2024 by a German federal administrative court in Leipzig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Thuringian state election</span> State election in Germany

The 2024 Thuringian state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect the members of the 8th Landtag of Thuringia. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Saxony state election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Values Union</span> Political organisation in Germany

The Values Union is a German party founded on February 17, 2024 by transforming a seven-year-old registered association with the same name. According to its own information, the Values Union had around 4,000 members in 2022; with about 3,000 also being the members of the CDU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Brandenburg state election</span> German state election

The election to the state parliament Landtag of Brandenburg of 22 September 2024 was the third state election within Germany in the month of September 2024, three weeks after the state elections in Thuringia and in Saxony, all part of former East Germany. The outgoing government was a black-red-green "flag of Kenya" coalition consisting of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and The Greens, led by Minister-President Dietmar Woidke of the SPD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Saxony state election</span>

The 2024 Saxony state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect members to the 8th Landtag of Saxony. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Thuringian state election. Going into the election, the state government was led by Michael Kretschmer of the CDU as Minister-President, in a coalition with the Greens and the SPD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerrit Huy</span> German politician (born 1953)

Gerrit Huy is a former German Top-Manager and now right-wing politician of AfD. Huy is member of the Bundestag since 2021, the federal diet.

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice is a political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as left-wing populist, left-wing nationalist, socialist, culturally conservative, socially conservative and Eurosceptic. The party is sceptical of green politics and support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and has been described as Russophilic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 German anti-extremism protests</span> Protests in response to the 2023 Potsdam meeting

Since mid-January 2024, widespread protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have been taking place in Germany, after a report by investigative journalist group Correctiv revealed the presence of in-office party members at the meeting of right-wing extremists at Potsdam in 2023, centered on "remigration" proposals to organize mass deportations of foreign-born Germans, including those with German citizenship. Protesters have "sought", as declared by the organizers, to defend the German democracy from the AfD, with many protesters calling for the party to be investigated by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or banned altogether.

The concept of the "firewall against the far-right" in Germany represents a strategic approach and political demand within civil society and political circles. It focuses on the dynamics between mainstream political parties and far-right entities such as the AfD and Die Heimat. The primary objective is to prevent mainstream parties from endorsing anti-democratic elements and to discourage alignment with or rapproachment towards far-right ideologies, advocating instead for a policy of non-cooperation with these parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans-Christoph Berndt</span> German politician (born 1956)

Hans-Christoph Berndt is a German politician. Since October 2020, he has been the leader of the Alternative for Germany parliamentary group in the Landtag of Brandenburg and, in this capacity, also the opposition leader in the state parliament. Berndt is classified as right-wing extremist by the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution. He was AfD's lead candidate for the 2024 Brandenburg state election.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bensmann, Marcus; von Daniels, Justus; Dowideit, Anette; Peters, Jean; Keller, Gabriela (10 January 2024). "Geheimplan gegen Deutschland". correctiv.org (in German). Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "CDU will Teilnehmer an Extremisten-Treffen aus der Partei werfen" [CDU wants to oust participants of meeting of extremists from party]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 12 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Sander, Lalon; Ansa, Sean-Elias (1 March 2024). "Tausendmal Tausende für Vielfalt" [Thousand times thousands for plurality]. taz (in German). Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 Baumann, Birgit (14 January 2024). "Investigativjournalist von Daniels: "Jedem muss klar sein, was die AfD in Wirklichkeit will"". Der Standard (in German). Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Geheimtreffen der Rechtsextremen: Offenbar hat AfD-Chef Chrupalla an früherer Runde teilgenommen" [Secret meeting of the right-wing extremists: AfD chairman Chrupalla apparently took part in earlier edition]. RND (in German). 14 January 2024. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Brandenburger AfD-Fraktion steht hinter Inhalten des rechten Geheimtreffens. Archived 21 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine In: rbb24.de. 17 January 2024, retrieved 17 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Bock, Michael (10 November 2011). "CDU-Landesvorstand watscht von Bismarck ab". volksstimme.de. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  8. ↑ Mischke, Roland (1 February 2004). "Junkerland in Junkerhand". welt.de . Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  9. 1 2 Frigelj, Kristian; Doll, Nikolaus (12 January 2024). "Werden Konsequenzen prüfen und hart durchgreifen". welt.de (in German). Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Nach Bericht über Treffen von AfD und Identitären: Empörung, Sorge und maximale Distanz". tagesschau.de (in German). 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  11. 1 2 Arnold, Andreas; Gaudich, Arnd (11 January 2024). "Correctiv: Zwei Oberbergerinnen bei Geheimtreffen in Potsdam". ksta.de. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Fischer, Carsten (10 January 2024). "Verein Deutsche Sprache aus Kamen distanziert sich von Vorstandsmitglied". muensterlandzeitung.de. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  13. ↑ Dominik Lenze: Saskia Ludwig will die Pandemie aufarbeiten. Archived 15 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine tagesspiegel.de, 15 November 2023.
  14. ↑ La Quimera. "Neonazi-Funktionär betreibt Heilpraxis in der Kieler Innenstadt" (in German). Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  15. ↑ Eydlin, Alexander (10 January 2024). "Treffen von Rechtsextremen: Restaurantkette Hans im Glück trennt sich von Gesellschafter". zeit.de . Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Gülmen, Metin (11 January 2024). "Hans im Glück: Nach "Remigration"-Treffen! Co-Inhaber wirft hin". derwesten.de. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Kersting, Silke; Neuerer, Dietmar (12 January 2024). "Nach AfD-Treffen – Cheflobbyist der Recyclingwirtschaft muss gehen". Handelsblatt (in German). Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Völkische Verbindungen Kappen (6 December 2023). "Extrem rechte Clans II". Antifa-Info.net (in German). Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  19. ↑ "Ex-CDU-Politiker: Ehemaliger Kölner OB-Kandidat Peter Kurth war Gastgeber für Rechtsextreme" (in German). 12 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  20. ↑ Hauk, Isabelle (7 February 2024). "Potsdamer CDU bereitet Ausschlussverfahren gegen Villa Adlon-Eigentümer vor".
  21. ↑ "Das Landhaus Adlon und das Neonazi-Treffen: Was über die Potsdamer Villa und ihre Besitzer bekannt ist", Der Tagesspiegel Online, ISSN   1865-2263, archived from the original on 22 January 2024, retrieved 17 January 2024
  22. ↑ Beck, Jean-Philipp; Fromm, Anne (26 January 2024). "Braune Eminenz". Die Tageszeitung: Taz. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  23. ↑ von Boeselager, Matern (8 June 2024). ""Sie sitzen hier mit jemandem auf der Ebene von Steve Bannon"". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  24. ↑ Fuchs, Christian; Steinhagen, Martin; Zimmermann, Fritz (12 April 2024). "Weiterer Rechtsextremist bei Postdamer Treffen". Die Zeit. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  25. ↑ Rudl, Thomas; Reuter, Markus (20 January 2024). "Braune IT und rechte Influencer". Netzpolitik. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  26. ↑ "Thüringen will mutmaßlichem Rechtsextremisten Preis entziehen". Evangelische Zeitung. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  27. 1 2 3 4 "Geheimplan gegen Deutschland". correctiv.org (in German). 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  28. ↑ "Faktencheck - maischberger - ARD | Das Erste". www.daserste.de (in German). Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  29. ↑ Funke, Hajo (24 October 2019). "Rechtsextremismus: Höcke will den Bürgerkrieg". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN   0044-2070 . Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  30. ↑ NDR, Robert Bongen, Armin Ghassim, Sulaiman Tadmory. "Millionen Deutsche haben Angst vor Abschiebungen". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 10 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  31. ↑ "Germany sees second day of large protests against far right – DW – 01/21/2024". dw.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  32. ↑ "AfD: Germans float ban on elected far-right party after scandal". BBC News. 20 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  33. ↑ Tanno, Sophie (20 January 2024). "Germany's far-right AfD face mounting protests over plan to deport migrants". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  34. ↑ "Germany: 1.4 million marched against far right over weekend". Le Monde.fr. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  35. ↑ "Germany's second day of major city rallies against AfD". dw.com. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  36. ↑ Marsh, Sarah (23 January 2024). "Support for far-right AfD eases after Germany-wide protests - polls". Reuters . Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  37. ↑ "Germany — National parliament voting intention". Politico . 15 February 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  38. ↑ Mohr, Martin (22 January 2024). "Welche Partei würden Sie wählen, wenn am nächsten Sonntag Nationalratswahl wäre?" [Which party would you vote for if next Sunday was National Council voting day?]. Statista (in German). Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  39. 1 2 McDonnell, Duncan; Werner, Annika (1 January 2020), "From International Populism to Transnational Populism", International Populism, Oxford University Press, pp. 197–230, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197500859.003.0007, ISBN   978-0-19-750085-9 , retrieved 6 July 2024
  40. ↑ "Dutch government finally sworn in after Wilders election win". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.