German Human Rights Institute Warns AfD Poses Danger to People with Disabilities
The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) warns that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) poses a danger to people with disabilities, stating that their devaluation is a manifest part of the party's ideology. In a new analysis, DIMR author Hendrik Cremer argues the party has radicalized since its founding and pursues a homogeneous national community that excludes less capable or unhealthy individuals. The report cites specific AfD statements, including a 2018 parliamentary query linking disability to migration and inbreeding, and remarks by Thuringian leader Björn Höcke calling inclusion a burden.
The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) warns that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) poses a danger to people with disabilities, stating in a new analysis that the devaluation of this group is a "manifest part of the party's ideological orientation."
DIMR author Hendrik Cremer wrote that since its founding the AfD has continuously radicalized and pursues a "homogeneous national community" based on national-ethnic ideas reminiscent of National Socialism, which excludes less capable or unhealthy individuals.
The analysis cites specific AfD statements. In 2018, the AfD parliamentary group submitted a parliamentary query asking about the number of severely disabled people in Germany, including those "resulting from marriage within the family" and those with a migration background. Disability advocacy groups at the time accused the party of drawing a link between disability, incest, and migration.
Björn Höcke, AfD state chairman in Thuringia, in an August 2023 MDR interview indirectly referred to inclusion as a burden, calling it an "ideology project" that does not advance "our students." DIMR draws a parallel between Höcke's language and the Nazis' labeling of disabled people as "ballast existences." More than 70,000 people with physical and mental disabilities were killed during the Nazi era.
Thorsten Weiß, deputy chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in Berlin, called inclusion "a construction site full of ideological errors." The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt recently rejected inclusion outright in its government program, saying it would "paralyze" teaching.
Emil Sänze, co-chair of the AfD Baden-Württemberg, said of Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder: "He is not only physically disabled, sometimes also mentally, ladies and gentlemen. But we let him live." DIMR states that Sänze's remark reveals a mindset that questions the right to life for people with disabilities.
DIMR says the AfD shifts the boundaries of what is sayable with its misanthropic statements. Die Zeit has requested a statement from the AfD; the party has not yet responded.