The Resurgence of Far-Right Politics in Germany
Germany’s February 2025 elections delivered a jarring result: the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party earned 20.8% of the vote, which is its highest share in history. While the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) maintains its status as the country’s leading party, the AfD’s rising popularity marks a significant shift in the political landscape of both Germany and Europe more broadly. For many Germans, the results feel unsettlingly familiar. In 1930, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the Nazi Party) made its first major breakthrough, capturing 18.3% of the vote. Within just three years, democracy in Germany had crumbled under Hitler’s regime. While the AfD is not a direct successor of Nazi Party, the xenophobic, white supremacist rhetoric present in AfD campaigns mimics 1930s Nazi ideologies and methods. Adapting to a new political and technological environment, the AfD builds on generational xenophobia and racism from communities who continue to reinforce the Holocaust mentality.
In a moment that drew international attention, Elon Musk appeared via Zoom at an AfD rally in Dresden in February 2025. His comments, which included a call to move past Germany’s “guilt culture,” proved that far-right narratives are gaining mainstream acceptance globally, with administrative shifts in the U.S. adding more fuel to the German political stage. Meanwhile, figures like Björn Höcke—one of AfD’s most prominent leaders—have used Nazi-era slogans in public speeches, displaying a return to domestic willingness to revisit gruesome moments in Germany’s history despite anti-Nazi education and the continued inheritance of collective guilt. The fact that these moments have not derailed the party’s momentum raises questions about how well democracy is equipped to respond to extremism cloaked in legitimacy, and how history has shaped social, economic and moral circumstances for Germans that explain this push towards extremism.
Historical Background: Fascism Then and Now
In the early 20th century, Germany was home to a vibrant democratic movement led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which advocated worker’s rights and progressive reforms. However, the economic collapse following the 1929 Great Depression destabilized the country. With unemployment soaring and public faith in democratic institutions waning, extremist movements began to gain traction. The Nazis capitalized on public discontent, scapegoating Jews, communists and political elites in order to unify the Aryan population. Hitler tailored his messaging to different audiences to appeal to different and sometimes conflicting interests by using highly interpretable slogans, a tactic not unlike the AfD’s social media strategy today. In the 1930 elections, the Nazi Party secured 18.3% of the vote, leveraging that momentum into full control of the government by 1933 through the infamous Enabling Act, which allowed Hitler to rule by decree. Violence and intimidation, spearheaded by the SA (Brownshirts), silenced opposition. Propaganda played a central role too, with the Nazis tightly controlling the media to normalize their ideology. Through this near-total control of the media and politics, the Nazi party was able to maintain strong control over the narratives continuing to embed discriminatory perspectives and maintain their control over the German populace. Through the AfD’s strong media presence and ability to vary their local and regional messaging, the AfD has a significantly less overt racist policy position regionally than locally, where billboards reference white supremacy more explicitly.
2024–2025 Elections
The AfD’s 20.8% vote share marks the strongest support for a far-right party in postwar Germany. This growth has been especially pronounced in Eastern Germany, where the economic effects of reunification have left lasting job gaps. Despite reunifying the two sides of Germany, East Germany still produces only about 75% of the economic output of the West. Rapid deindustrialization in the 1990s gutted local industries because factories in East Germany were outdated and less efficient, leaving many communities without stable economic futures. Thus, aging populations outnumber youth due to out-migration, leading to a concentration of conservative values and resentment for economic instability. The AfD has skillfully tapped into this environment, offering immigrants as scapegoats and redirecting anger away from systemic inequality, similarly to Nazi Germany’s unification of white Germans against Jewish Germans. Notably, party co-chair Alice Weidel has stated in her 2018 Bundestag speech that “burkas, headscarf girls, publicly-supported knife men, and other good-for-nothings will not secure our prosperity, economic growth, and the social state.” Voter turnout in this election was the highest since 1990, indicating that Germans across the political spectrum are more unified than ever—for or against— this conservative push. The AfD’s growing base is no longer limited to frustrated fringe voters: it now includes significant portions of the electorate, especially in old East Germany.
Björn Höcke and the Nazi Slogan Controversy
Björn Höcke, leader of the AfD’s nationalist faction, has repeatedly sparked controversy for his use of Nazi-era language. In 2018, he invoked the phrase “Alles für Deutschland” (“Everything for Germany”): a slogan used by Hitler’s SA and inscribed on their daggers. The phrase has been banned in Germany since the end of World War II. In 2024, Höcke was formally charged under Germany’s laws prohibiting Nazi propaganda for using this phrase at a public rally after attempting to plead innocent to being unfamiliar with the meaning of the phrase despite formerly being a history teacher. Still, he remains a prominent and influential figure within the AfD, underscoring a disturbing shift: what was once political suicide has now become survivable and marketable. This normalization is particularly troubling in a country where students learn extensively about the Holocaust and the importance of remembrance. If these lessons can be so easily sidelined, it signals deeper vulnerabilities in Germany’s democratic culture.
Elon Musk’s Rally Appearance: Global Validation
Looking globally, Elon Musk spoke over Zoom call at the AfD rally less than a week after being accused of performing the Nazi salute during the inauguration of President Trump. Musk criticized Germany’s emphasis on historical guilt and advocated for national pride—a sentiment often associated with the far-right in Germany. Musk’s influence is vast, particularly among younger audiences. His public engagement with AfD leadership awarded the AfD global recognition and legitimacy in the eyes of other extremists abroad. While Musk is not German, his words hold weight, especially among those who already question Germany’s postwar reckoning with its past. His support also echoes a broader trend. AfD leaders like Alice Weidel have voiced admiration for Donald Trump’s administration, particularly its immigration stance. With figures like Musk and Vice President JD Vance aligning with both Trump and the AfD, the global far-right appears more coordinated than ever, with a potential to create a positive feedback loop that amplifies xenophobic rhetoric globally.
How Democracies Enable the Far Right
Though the AfD is not in the majority, it has laid out legislative proposals that would significantly curtail asylum rights and redefine German citizenship along ethnic lines. These proposals bear strong similarities to policies pursued by the Trump administration in the U.S., which has sought to deport both undocumented and previously protected refugees. Despite being signatories to international conventions like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Refugee Convention, both German and American leadership have openly challenged or been on the cusp of challenging these agreements. Despite the fact that Germany’s courts have so far acted to restrain some of the AfD’s most extreme efforts, it is evident that changing political will has the power to undermine long-established international norms. The Trump administration’s actions exemplify this, as the administration already attempted to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from Ukrainians, Haitians and Venezuelans.
AfD’s rapid ascent is not solely the result of traditional campaigning—it has been supercharged by social media. On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, algorithms that prioritize engagement over accuracy or ethics push far-right content toward younger users. One viral Instagram reel, clearly targeting young voters, posed rhetorical questions like “Do you want to feel unsafe walking home?” or “Do you think men can get pregnant?” The video ends with a slogan: “Germany isn’t just a place, it’s our home. #BlueNotColorful.” The hashtag specifically refers to the sentiment that Germany should be a homogenous country with only “blue” AfD supporters, not “colorful” people with different races and cultures. This messaging plays into racial and cultural anxieties and mirrors far-right strategies elsewhere, especially in the U.S. where younger white men have shown growing support for populist nationalism. Germany is also experiencing this demographic shift, suggesting a broader cultural realignment that transcends borders.
The Future of German Democracy and Human Rights
Despite the AfD’s surge, 80% of Germans still view the party unfavorably. Civil society remains strong, with protests and counter-movements organizing regularly to push back against far-right narratives. There are also legal efforts underway to ban certain extremist elements of the AfD, or isolate them within the political system as historically done through the German firewall agreement. Whether these measures will continue to be effective remains to be seen, but they reflect a society still committed to upholding democratic norms. However, the AfD’s normalization in public discourse raises important questions about the future of democracy, as Nazi Germany was also originally a minority movement. Through this, it is clear that dangerous ideologies do not need majority support to wield immense influence, especially if the opposition is complacent or divided. So far, the global response to AfD’s rise has been muted. The EU has not issued formal condemnations, and international media coverage has largely focused on surface-level political shifts rather than deeper democratic implications. As Germany has always been one of the most economically and socially influential powers in Europe, its response to the AfD has the potential to set a global precedent, especially for countries with weaker democratic institutions or less painful histories of authoritarianism.
Learning from the Past to Protect the Future
The AfD’s rise is not an isolated phenomenon. It’s part of a broader, global trend of far-right resurgence fueled by economic anxieties, social media algorithms and a growing willingness to adopt extremist perspectives as a way to cope with uncertainty. Germany, more than most countries, understands the cost of letting such movements go unchecked. Despite this history, these extremist movements increasingly test democratic institutions. The question facing Germany and the world isn’t whether far-right extremism has entered the mainstream, but whether democratic societies have the capacity to balance free speech and human rights to protect all.
Image from Karina Hessland, Reuters.