Misanthropic rhetoric in German political discourse
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it is crunch time ahead of the state elections. The AfD appears confident of victory, and so its rhetoric is becoming increasingly confident of victory and misanthropic. For Tino Chrupalla knows that he has the applause and laughter of his voters on his side when he claims that a cache of weapons found in a wooded area near Berlin must have come from Zi******/g****, who must have lost them there. And this isn’t just coming out of thin air. Political discourse as a whole has been shifting further to the right for years; it is not just since Friedrich Merz’s ‘cityscape’ remark that the AfD has known: attacking minorities is now socially acceptable.
Antigypsyism in the AfD: a recurring pattern
Antigypsyism, in particular, is a recurring pattern within the AfD, which has been particularly evident this year in the actions of Enxhi Seli-Zacharias, an AfD member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament. In June, Seli-Zacharias uploaded a video in which she forced migrant people, including many Roma*, in a neighbourhood of Gelsenkirchen to sweep in front of her front door. A complaint because of hate speech was filed against her. Time and again, the AfD stirs up hatred against Sinti*, Roma* and those perceived as such, drawing primarily on centuries-old stereotypes of criminalisation. These played a decisive role during the systematic persecution and murder of Sinti*, Roma* and those perceived as such during the Holocaust. In post-war Germany, this Nazi propaganda strategy persisted so strongly that, until 1982, the persecution and murder of Sinti*, Roma* and those perceived as such under National Socialism was even considered lawful in the post-war era (see the scandalous 1956 judgement), on the grounds that they were, after all, ‘criminals’.
Central Council files complaint against Chrupalla
The German Central Council of Sinti and Roma has also filed a complaint against Tino Chrupalla for incitement of the people. We hereby wish to support this complaint, condemn Tino Chrupalla’s statement and classify it for what it is: anti-Gypsy and inhumane.