The Brandenburg state association of the AfD, according to Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, violates human dignity and the state constitution. This was revealed in a report assessing the party as definitively right-wing extremist, presented on Thursday in Potsdam by Interior Minister René Wilke (independent) and the head of the constitutional protection agency, Wilfried Peters. The report was published online at the same time.
Interior Minister Wilke emphasized that the rule of law must be used to steer the AfD away from its unconstitutional path and ensure the party faces consequences. “In this process, classifying the Brandenburg AfD as a definitively right-wing extremist effort and publishing the evidence confirming this is an important step,” Wilke said.
The classification as definitively right-wing extremist allows intelligence measures to be applied more effectively. It also provides a foundation for potential further actions, such as a ban procedure, though Wilke noted that this remains a distant prospect. “If they continue to radicalize, however, it could lead to a ban procedure,” he added. Wilke described the AfD as “rightfully highly nervous” because it has recognized that its path leads to illegality.
According to Peters, the report shows that the Brandenburg AfD seeks to undermine basic constitutional loyalty by violating human dignity. By denying fundamental rights to large groups of people, the party contravenes both the Basic Law and Brandenburg’s constitution.
Peters cited an example from AfD parliamentary leader Hans-Christoph Berndt, who stated that Germany should remain a country for Germans and that some Germans should undergo “remigration.” According to this statement, German citizens who, in the AfD’s view, do not belong to the German people, such as those of Muslim faith, would have to leave the country.
The constitutional protection office considers this a violation of human dignity, as it denies individuals their rights as citizens and treats them as persons of lesser status. Wilke clarified that not all AfD members in Brandenburg are to be regarded as right-wing extremists. However, there is now a base of supporters who back the AfD like a “football club,” independent of the party’s actions. These supporters operate in a kind of cultural community space, a phenomenon previously seen mainly in radicalized football clubs or “sect-like conglomerates.”
The publication of the report had previously been contested. After the classification of the Brandenburg AfD was announced in early May, the party filed an emergency appeal with the Potsdam Administrative Court. The constitutional protection agency temporarily suspended the classification and issued a “standstill declaration.” Since then, the agency had treated the state association as a suspected case rather than a confirmed extremist entity.
The AfD’s demand to publish the report to showcase the “amateurish work” of the constitutional protection office was rejected by Wilke, citing the ongoing court appeal. Once the AfD withdrew the appeal, the report was published, and the party could again be officially designated as definitively right-wing extremist.
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