On a wet evening in Suhl, in the former East Germany, a smattering of youthful faces were among hundreds lining up to hear from an unlikely idol – Björn Höcke, one of the most controversial figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Höcke, a former history teacher, has been found guilty of using Nazi terminology in a speech and has faced criticism for his views even within the AfD, seen as a pariah by Germany’s mainstream parties.
This mattered little though at the non-descript hall tucked away in a deserted shopping center in Suhl. When asked about his popularity among young people and if he is a good role model, he was clear in his answer.
Höcke is capable of pulling a big crowd, he is lauded in these parts. The AfD’s victory in the state in elections last year made it the first party to win any sort of election since the Nazi era.
Yet the trend of young voters choosing the AfD for their politics is a phenomenon that is a rising across Germany.
Polls for the upcoming election on Sunday, and the AfD’s success in regional elections last year, show the party has transformed from regional to national force.
If European election results last year – which saw an 18% increase in 16–34-year-olds voting for the AfD – are a barometer, the rise nationally among the same group could form a significant part of the AfD’s likely climb into second place.
The AfD in Thuringia is designated an extremist organization by German domestic intelligence and Höcke is its leader.
But many of the young people we spoke to didn’t attempt to hide their admiration for Höcke, with some saying they came specifically to listen to him.
Dante Reidel, a 26-year-old student, standing next to a stall selling the German far-right magazine “Compact,” said he is also a designated extremist.
For Reidel, Höcke is an idol, “it’s also about the personalities… who embody certain values. And what I really appreciate about Höcke is that he is honest… and he speaks plainly.”
He details some of his ideology and what he views as important to him. In particular the veneration of nationalistic, expansionist and militaristic periods of history.
“Prussian virtues, things like diligence, discipline. These are things that are important, including the cardinal virtues from antiquity,” he said.
The Young Alternatives are also nationally designated as extremists. It is part of the reason that they recently voted to disband and reform more formally under central AfD control. Engelhardt says the designation is a conspiracy against them and that they have no extremists in their ranks.
When asked about why so many young people are voting for the AfD, he repeats the now-common AfD refrain.
“Migration is the mother of all crises. We have a lot of illegal immigrants in this country… who are not behaving. And I think that many of the problems we have today… are also caused by migration, by uncontrolled mass immigration,” Engelhardt says.
The same week, a car driven by an Afghan migrant tore through a peaceful protest in central Munich. A 36-year-old woman and a 2-year-old died from their injuries.
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It marked the third attack in as many months. An Afghan migrant killed two in a Aschaffenburg knife attack in January, and a car-ramming at a Christmas market in Magdeburg killed six last year.
The spate of attacks has catapulted the issue of migration to the fore.
The AfD’s response has been to call for “remigration”: The mass return of migrants.
The term has Nazi connotations. Engelhardt called it a “scientific term” and says the deportation of people is not what they are calling for but rather, they want a tighter migration policy more generally.
Regardless of the designations, connections to extremist individuals and reforming of his political association, Engelhardt remains certain that Germany’s future lies in the hands of the young.
He said “something has changed” in young German voters.
“The fact many young people want to vote for the AfD means that we also have a future.”