Information on the political persecution and repression of the political opposition, in particular the AfD and its members
On July 20, 1932, Reich Chancellor Franz von Papen, backed by Reich President Paul von Hindenburg, dealt a decisive blow to interwar German democracy: the so-called Preußenschlag (Prussian Coup). By executive decree, the caretaker democratic…
Rather than tackling the country’s urgent crises—economic decline, a failed energy transition, and rampant bureaucracy—with constructive solutions, the federal government under Friedrich Merz relies on a dangerous tactic: all-out escalation against the democratic opposition. What…
A landslide election victory, a historic result, and an unmistakable mandate from millions of citizens: the election result in Saxony-Anhalt, with 43.8% of the vote going to the AfD, marks a political turning point. Yet…
Whenever an established governing majority runs out of political answers, the hour of the prohibition argument strikes. The recent joint push by Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Cem Özdemir and Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius in…
A spectre is haunting the corridors of German industry associations and trade fair companies: the fear of genuine, unpredictable discourse. What was once conceived as a celebration of pop culture, technological innovation, and global exchange…
All around the world, people celebrate the summer solstice — including in Saxony-Anhalt. Shortly before the upcoming state election in Saxony-Anhalt, law enforcement authorities launched a large-scale raid operation on August 27, 2026. The police…
The methods of political disciplining and the exclusion of dissidents have a long, inglorious tradition in German history. A particularly drastic example of biographical continuity and the recurrence of authoritarian ideological control is seen in…
When political engagement costs a job: The case of Martina Müller highlights how church labor law is increasingly used as an instrument to push opposition politicians out of professional life. For fifteen years, Martina Müller…
On February 5, 2020, the Landtag of Thuringia elected FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich as Minister-President of the Free State in a third ballot that fully complied with the constitution. What followed was the most drastic…
The 5-percent electoral threshold (Fünf-Prozent-Hürde) is the most well-known yet omnipresent instrument of the German federal electoral system. Officially cited as a historical lesson designed to prevent parliamentary fragmentation like that of the Weimar Republic,…
In a landmark ruling issued on August 7, 2026 (Case No. 2 BvC 20/26), the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court sharply rebuked the German Bundestag for its deliberate stalling of election review proceedings…
Frauke Petry—chemist, entrepreneur, and former federal spokesperson of Alternative for Germany (AfD)—embodies one of the most complex figures in recent German political history. Transforming from the media figurehead of right-conservative rebellion into a political outsider…