Auschwitz Survivor Voices Alarm as Far-Right AfD Secures Historic German State Election Victory

Eva Umlauf, a prominent Auschwitz survivor who was liberated from the Nazi death camp as a toddler, has expressed profound distress and sorrow following the electoral triumph of the far-right Alternative for Germany party in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The party's landmark victory marks a historic and deeply controversial shift in the nation's post-war political landscape. For the first time since the defeat of the Nazi regime at the end of World War Two, a far-right political force has advanced within reach of state government power in Germany.

Umlauf was just two years old when she and her mother were freed from Auschwitz by Allied forces in January 1945. More than eight decades after surviving the concentration camp, she described herself as horrified to witness far-right politics ascending to mainstream influence once again in German society.

Speaking from Munich, where she currently works as a pediatrician and psychotherapist, Umlauf stated that although she had anticipated the party's electoral gains based on pre-election polling, she remained deeply appalled by the outcome. She noted that she could not comprehend what motivates voters to cast their ballots for the party.

In addition to her medical and psychotherapy practice, the Slovakian-born survivor serves as the president of the International Auschwitz Committee. Through this role and personal outreach, she regularly visits classrooms and educational institutions across Germany to teach students about the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Her public reaction underscores the mounting anxiety felt by representatives of various minority groups across Germany. This heightened state of alarm comes ahead of additional upcoming regional elections scheduled for September 20 in both the city-state of Berlin and the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the far right is also mounting strong campaigns.

Reflecting on the historical lessons of the twentieth century, Umlauf emphasized that marginalized groups and foreign residents have justified cause for trepidation, noting that history has already demonstrated the tragic consequences that unfold when extreme movements target minorities.

The Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD, was originally established in 2013 as a eurosceptic political organization during the height of the euro zone debt crisis. The party has consistently rejected comparisons to the Nazi Party, which orchestrated the state-sponsored genocide that claimed the lives of six million Jews, alongside Roma and Sinti people, homosexuals, and numerous other victims.

The AfD's core platform centers on significantly curtailing immigration, with a specific focus on blocking individuals from backgrounds it considers culturally alien to Germany. The party also advocates for abandoning the euro currency and re-establishing closer diplomatic and trade ties with Russia in an effort to reduce domestic energy expenses.

AfD leadership maintains that its policies embody common-sense viewpoints held by millions of German citizens, firmly denying accusations of antisemitism. Instead, the organization argues that established mainstream political parties weaponize such accusations as a deliberate strategy to marginalize and silence political opposition.

Despite the party's denials, political rivals and watchdog groups have frequently accused the AfD of trivializing and downplaying Germany's Nazi past. Critics frequently point to a controversial 2018 statement made by one of the party's senior leaders, who publicly characterized the twelve-year Nazi era as merely "bird shit in 1,000 years of successful German history."

The party's rhetoric has drawn severe warnings from national community leaders. The Central Council of Jews in Germany, which represents the country's Jewish community, has explicitly described the AfD as a political movement that has provided a welcoming home for antisemites and far-right extremists.

Official security bodies have also subjected the party's regional operations to rigorous surveillance. The Saxony-Anhalt branch of the AfD has been formally classified as a right-wing extremist group by the state office of the domestic security agency, known as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, although the party continues to dismiss this official classification as a politically motivated attack.

The election in Saxony-Anhalt unfolded against the backdrop of heightened vulnerability for Jewish communities across Europe. The region has witnessed a sharp uptick in antisemitic attacks and incidents in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel and the subsequent military campaign in Gaza.

While far-left factions have also faced criticism and accusations regarding the propagation of antisemitism, the AfD has faced intense scrutiny from civic observers as its electoral momentum and polling figures continue to build across several German states.

Concerns have been further amplified by the AfD's official election platform in Saxony-Anhalt, which advocates for a "patriotic cultural policy." This proposed policy seeks to redirect school history curricula away from a heavy focus on Nazi-era crimes toward older historical figures such as 19th-century Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, while calling for the restoration of public memorials honoring German soldiers who died in both world wars.

Critics maintain that such curriculum changes represent a troubling attempt to erode Germany's decades-long commitment to confronting its historical guilt and remembering Nazi atrocities. Nevertheless, Umlauf stressed that the party does not represent the entirety of the nation, pointing out that nationwide support for the AfD averages approximately 30 percent, and expressing hope that this latest outcome will mobilize the remaining 70 percent of the electorate to defend democratic values.