Germany: AfD politician under investigation for sharing picture ‘asking Hitler to come back’

Via Independent:

A German politician is under investigation for allegedly circulating a photo of Adolf Hitler and pleading for the Nazi leader’s return.

Elena Roon, the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) regional chair and parliamentary candidate in Nuremberg, is accused of sharing the image with fellow members of the populist party in a WhatsApp chat.

“Missed since 1945”, the caption reportedly read. “Adolf please get in touch! Germany needs you! The German people!”

Party officials said they were treating the allegations very seriously, forming a panel to investigate Ms Roon, although it was unclear whether she would be removed as an election candidate.

In a statement, she said she didn’t want Hitler to return “under any circumstances”, admitting she posted the images but insisting she did not condone them.

“I distance myself from right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism,” Ms Roon added.

The controversy comes as the AfD moves to expel its leader in the region of Thuringia, after he provoked outrage in Germany for calling the Berlin Holocaust memorial a “monument of shame”.

read more