German Far-right Firebrand In Court For Using Nazi Slogan

Halle (Saale) , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point news - 18th Apr, 2024) He is a former history teacher who is gunning to become the first far-right state premier in post-war Germany. But first, Bjoern Hoecke will have to appear in court on Thursday for publicly using a banned Nazi slogan.

Hoecke, 52, is the head of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Thuringia, one of three former East German states where the party is leading opinion polls ahead of regional elections in September.

He stands accused of twice using the phrase "Alles fuer Deutschland" ("Everything for Germany"), once a motto of the so-called Sturmabteilung paramilitary group that played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power.

The phrase is illegal in modern-day Germany, along with the Nazi salute and other slogans and symbols from that era.

The former high school teacher claims not to have been aware that the slogan "Everything for Germany" had been used by the Nazis, but prosecutors believe Hoecke uttered the phrase in full knowledge of its "origin and meaning".

The trial in the central city of Halle, set to last until mid-May, is one of several controversies the AfD is battling ahead of EU elections in June and regional elections in the autumn.

If convicted, Hoecke faces up to three years in prison. Following a guilty verdict, he could still stand in the regional election, but only if he engages in a drawn-out appeals process.