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Now also the Young Alternative Thuringia: Which AfD organizations are actually (not) considered right-wing extremist?
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes his regional association as definitely right-wing extremist: the Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke
© Martin Schutt / DPA
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia classifies the state association of the AfD as “certainly right-wing extremist” – just as it has previously classified several groups within the party. But which of them exactly are the focus of the domestic secret service?
Now the youth organisation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Thuringia: The state’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the Young Alternative (JA) Thuringia as definitely right-wing extremist. The state’s Ministry of the Interior in Erfurt announced this on Thursday.
“The current JA Thuringia regularly refers to an ethnically homogeneous German nation and a German community of descent,” it said in justification. Such an idea formulates biological assumptions about who can be German and who cannot. This contradicts the Basic Law. The JA Thuringia works “action-oriented and experience-oriented in order to convey the impression that its anti-constitutional positions are capable of gaining a public majority.”
The administrative court in Cologne had already allowed the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution to classify and treat the JA as a “confirmed right-wing extremist effort” in February. Most recently, the Higher Administrative Court in Münster ruled that the domestic secret service can list the JA’s “parent organization”, the AfD, as a “suspected right-wing extremist case”.
These cases are by no means the only ones in which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies a branch of the AfD as suspected of being anti-constitutional or even as confirmed right-wing extremist.
Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), has emphasized several times in the past that his office views right-wing extremism as currently the greatest threat to the free-democratic basic order of the Federal Republic. A number of AfD sub-organizations nationwide are now classified as suspected right-wing extremist cases and are being monitored accordingly – unique in the German party landscape. The overview:
AfD state associations in the focus of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
According to the respective constitutional protection offices, three of the 16 AfD state associations are considered right-wing extremist, including the Thuringian association of state party leader Björn Höcke, which is considered particularly radical. Six other regional associations are listed as suspected cases.
* In Bavaria, the category of “suspected case” does not officially exist, but the AfD regional association there is monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Young alternative in the focus of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Where there is a party, there is also a youth organization. In the case of the AfD, this is the JA for members between 14 and 36; according to “Spiegel,” there are around 2,100. The JA is therefore one of the largest associations within the party – and is also of particular interest to the secret services in several federal states. The classification of the NRW-JA as a suspected right-wing extremist case was the sixth of its kind. In December, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution also considered four state JA associations to be definitely right-wing extremist – now it is the entire organization.
Other AfD groups in the focus of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Until its (at least official) dissolution, the ethnic-national group Der Wing within the AfD was also monitored by intelligence services as a suspected case. Up to 7,000 followers were attributed to her. The leading figures were Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz, among others, two right-wing extremist politicians. Since the wing was a rather informal circle, it is difficult to prove that it was actually dissolved. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has not published any findings that indicate a cessation of activities.
Overall, according to the 2022 Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the BfV assumes that around 10,000 members of the AfD, i.e. almost a third, are extremists.
The AfD has repeatedly criticized the actions of the secret services as being politically motivated and sees its (basic) rights as being restricted as an opposition party. Several court cases against the classifications of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution are still open. The authorities are required to make their assessments based on objective criteria and have made these public – at least in part – in their annual reports.
Sources: Constitutional Protection Report 2022 from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution2022 Constitutional Protection Reports of the State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution,News agencies DPA and AFP
Editor’s note: This article was first published on December 12, 2023 and has been extensively updated. The maps were last updated on May 23, 2024.