Survivors of the German concentration camps are closely following the upcoming elections in Europe and the current AfD party conference with intense interest. They are dismayed at what is emerging from the core of this German party: an increasingly closed view of the world and society underpinned by dominant right-wing and nationalist tones, a contempt for democracy, and an undifferentiated two-dimensional friend-foe view of society.

Speaking during a project that is being held with young people at the Auschwitz Memorial, Christoph Heubner, the executive vice president of the International Auschwitz Committee said:

"The AfD has finally decisively departed from the social consensus of post-war Germany and from the civil practices of mainstream society in Germany. Blatant scaremongering, the denunciation of all other political parties, and the abandonment of the cohesive cultural values of the republic dominate the speeches and public appearances. The same thing applies to this party conference as was expressed by an Austrian Auschwitz survivor about the FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria) during the Austrian presidential election: they are bringing out people’s basest feelings. They are trying to mobilise hatred in society.

The great hope of the survivors of the German concentration and extermination camps is that, as they approach the ends of their lives, they will not have to experience a dramatic turn towards the toxic world of European right-wing extremists during the coming elections: This world is all-too familiar to them."