German Far-Right AfD Party: History Repeating Itself?

The Frankfurter Allegmeine (FAZ) just reprinted a front-page article from November 1, 1929.  The upstart Nazi Party had just achieved a milestone election victory by gaining seats in the state assembly for the first time.  The editors of the paper caution against reading too much into the election results since the democratic institutions of the Weimar Republic were robust enough to withstand the threat of this fringe, anti-democratic extremist party:

"Man muß zunächst übertriebene Auffassungen zurückweisen: der Kern der Wählerschaft hat an der guten demokratischen Tradition des Landes festgehalten;

The editors go on to speculate about just who these disaffected voters were who checked the box for the Nazis:

"Es sind die Leute der nationalen Romantik, die die Götzendämmerung des Nationalismus noch nicht erkennen und die sich noch immer nicht zu der Erkenntnis durchgerungen haben, die Alfred Weber kürzlich etwa so formulierte: daß wir, weil wir uns unsere Stellung in der Welt nicht mit „heroischen“ Mitteln schaffen können, darauf angewiesen sind, klug zu sein."

Still, the election results were disturbing enough that the editors call for a surge in support for and an expansion of democracy in Germany:

"Freilich darf man, wenn man dies alles so eintaxiert, wie es eintaxiert zu werden verdient, das eine nicht übersehen, daß sich in der Tatsache des relativ großen Anhangs, den der Nationalsozialismus findet, doch auch in irgendwelcher Hinsicht ein Versagen des neuen Staates dokumentieren muß. Die Empfänglichkeit weiter Volkskreise für die nationalsozialistische Agitation könnte nicht so groß sein, wenn die Republik die volle Ueberzeugungs- und Anziehungskraft entfaltet hätte, die gerade einer auf dem demokratischen und sozialen Prinzip aufgebauten Institution innewohnen muß. Deshalb muß der Nationalsozialismus der Republik ein Stachel zur Selbstkritik sein; die Republik ist robust genug, um solche unablässige Selbstkritik ertragen zu können."

Somehow all this sounds quite familiar.  Haven't I read similar editorials in the FAZ, Spiegel, and the mainstream media about the rise of the AfD?  Of course, the Federal Republic can look back on more than 70 years of democratic success compared to just 10 year of Weimar.  Still, as we've seen, democracy is fragile, and a sizeable number of Germans seem once again to subscribe to "die nationale Romantic." The fact that the extremist "Wing" (Flügel) of the AfD has essentially taken over the party should be of great concern.  Now the party leader Björn Höcke preaches an idiotic völkisch ideology, lifted virtually verbatim from Josef Goebbels, in his campaign stump speeches shows that a threshold has been crossed.  Now the voters in entire states of eastern Germany reject democracy at the ballot box.  Leading politicians receive credible death threats - sometimes carried out - while entire communities in the east are Nazi-controlled no-go zones for people of color or "foreigners."

Unfortunately, the mass support for the "auf dem demokratischen und sozialen Prinzip aufgebauten Institution" called for by the newspaper editors back in 1929 never materialized.  The Republic was sabotaged by parties on the left and the right.  Those few who stood up for democracy and the Republic - such as Thomas Mann - were ridiculed and forced to flee their homeland a few years later. 

Comments

[sol1]

Fake news were an important factor, too:

"Es sind die Leute, die innerlich so durcheinander gebracht sind, daß sie kritiklos auf jede Hetze reagieren und jeden Schwindel glauben, der ihnen von skrupellosen Spektakelmachern vorgesetzt wird. Das Märchen vom Sklavenexport, den Deutschland im Young-Plan zugestanden haben soll, gab eine Probe davon, was alles man diesen Leuten bieten kann, ohne ausgelacht zu werden."

[Koogleschreiber]

Btw, David, did you watch "The Man in the High Castle" (based on Philip K. Dick's novel)? It is Amazon's most successful production about a parallel world where Germany and Japan have won WW2 and there is a portal between that world and ours. The longer you follow it, the more you develop sympathy and understanding for the controversial characters - until the exponents ask themselves how they could sink so low. Also starring: J. Edgar Hoover as Head of the Gestapo.

First I thought to give you a link to Amazon's trailer of this great series, but the follwing is much, much better:

The cast of The Man In The High Castle on how they resist immunity to Nazi
imagery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdUKnHOPnE
Watch it!

[David]

koogleschreiber - thanks for the tip. I did watch a few episodes of season one, but should check it out again.

[HENRY KAHRS]

i am not sure but think the a f d is trying to get to the truth witch is hidden to the public. going by Gerard Menuhin Alan Sabrosky we are not told the truth