Head of Germany's AfD in Saxony-Anhalt photographed making Hitler salute

An investigation by journalists Pauline von Pezold and Frederik Schindler revealed a 2020 photograph showing Martin Reichardt, an AfD Bundestag member and state leader in Saxony-Anhalt, apparently making a Hitler salute. Reichardt and his party deny the allegation, calling the gesture a humorous "accolade." The scandal broke alongside new revelations about AfD leaders' contradictory positions on both the German national football team and East German Stasi history.

Martin Reichardt, state leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt and a Bundestag member, has come under serious pressure following the release of a 2020 photograph by journalists Pauline von Pezold (POLITICO) and Frederik Schindler (WELT) showing a man making what appears to be a Hitler salute.

The photograph and disputed explanation

According to witnesses, the incident occurred at a formal moment when a party membership certificate was being presented. Reichardt himself and the AfD's Saxony-Anhalt state organization describe the gesture instead as an innocent "accolade" and say it was meant as a joke. However, the journalists' investigation revealed significant chronological inconsistencies in this official account, casting doubt on the version of events.

AfD and the national team: two voices in one party

Pezold and Schindler's material also touches on internal divisions within the AfD regarding the German national football team. Party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla have publicly distanced themselves from nationalist-racist statements, while other party functionaries, such as Björn Höcke, the regional leader in Thuringia, have continued to make public racist remarks about players' skin color and origins. Court rulings have already shown that precisely such statements support the classification of the AfD as suspected of being unconstitutional.

Stasi past and double standards

A third aspect of the investigation concerns the AfD's contradictory approach to East German history. The party frequently uses the term "Stasi informants" in a derogatory manner when criticizing today's constitutional protection authority, yet recently an AfD delegate met with Egon Krenz, the former chairman of East Germany's State Council. An investigation conducted in Brandenburg additionally revealed that several AfD state parliament members have documented contacts with the former security service.

All of this is covered by POLITICO's German-language podcast "Inside AfD," which airs every Wednesday and examines how the party continues to grow despite radicalization and coming under constitutional scrutiny.