Accompanied by massive protests, the AfD has founded its new youth organization “Generation Germany.” During the founding assembly on Saturday in Giessen, Jean-Pascal Hohm, a hardline figure within the party, was elected chairman. The 28-year-old belongs to the Brandenburg state branch classified by authorities as confirmed right-wing extremist. In his candidacy speech, he said his goal was to protect the German homeland “from falling into decline.”
Hohm received 90.4 percent of the vote and was met with loud applause. There were no opposing candidates. The 28-year-old from Cottbus said he intended to work “with all wings of the party” and would “not allow myself to be used in power struggles.” He added that he wanted to act “decisively against all tendencies toward division, whether from inside or outside.” His political work, he said, should ensure “that our people, despite all justified concern, are not lost.”
By choosing Hohm, the new youth organization placed a figure from the far-right edge of the party at its top. In the Brandenburg intelligence agency’s classification report, Hohm is mentioned dozens of times. He is quoted in the document expressing anti-migration and ethnic-nationalist positions. At the founding meeting of Generation Germany, he said: “We will fight decisively for a genuine migration turnaround that ensures Germany remains the homeland of the Germans.”
Generation Germany succeeds the previous AfD youth wing, the Young Alternative. That organization had been classified as confirmed right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence and operated largely independently as a registered association, leaving it vulnerable to a potential ban by the Federal Interior Ministry.
The party cut ties with the Young Alternative in the spring, and the group dissolved. Generation Germany is now established as the official youth division, more closely integrated into the AfD, making a ban legally more difficult.
The new structure also gives the AfD leadership greater ability to direct its youth organization. The Young Alternative had repeatedly caused controversy with ideological provocations, something party co-leader Alice Weidel strongly disliked. She sees the creation of the new organization as a step toward greater professionalism.
Weidel stressed that the party’s youth must understand itself as a “cadre school” for the AfD. “You are the next generation after me, after Tino Chrupalla, after the older ones here who lead our country,” she said. Speaking about recruiting new talent for the party, she added: “I want us to have a strong second and third row.”
All members of Generation Germany must also be members of the AfD itself, placing them under the party’s disciplinary authority. Co-chair Tino Chrupalla demanded that Generation Germany work constructively with the party as a whole. “We expect the new youth organization to place itself in the service of the party,” he said. Generation Germany, he added, must become a “genuine party youth.”
There were few lengthy discussions among members on Saturday. The founding convention, originally planned for two days, was completed on Saturday evening. The event at the Giessen exhibition halls began more than two hours late due to protest actions at midday. According to police, around 25,000 people took part in various demonstrations, some peaceful and others violent. Hesse’s Interior Minister Roman Poseck said at least ten police officers were slightly injured.
From early morning, some demonstrators attempted to block access to the exhibition center where the AfD youth event was being held. Police reported isolated incidents of bottles and stones being thrown at officers. A group of about 1,500 protesters also fired pyrotechnic ammunition at police. When clearing blockades on access roads, officers used pepper spray and water cannons.
In the afternoon, some demonstrators attempted to approach the exhibition halls on the western bank of the Lahn River. Police pushed them back using a water cannon. The protest alliance “Resist” claimed that more than 50,000 people participated in the demonstrations, including around 15,000 involved in blockades. The group accused police of using excessive force.
AfD co-leader Weidel criticized the protests as “deeply undemocratic.” She said they displayed “a willingness to use violence that one must genuinely fear.” According to her, AfD Bundestag member Julian Schmidt was “beaten up.”
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