A prominent politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is back in court on Monday for using a banned Nazi slogan.
Björn Höcke, the leader of the AfD in the central German state of Thuringia, is on trial for using the slogan of the Nazi street-fighting paramilitary group Stormtrooper (SA): “Everything for Germany.”
The proceedings are being conducted at the Halle District Court in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Höcke has already been convicted in a separate trial for quoting the same slogan in a speech at an AfD election campaign event in Merseburg in Saxony-Anhalt in May 2021.
He was charged for this when he allegedly uttered the first two words of the slogan “Everything for Germany” as a speaker at an AfD event in the city of Gera in Thuringia in December 2023.
He used gestures to encourage the audience to shout the third word of the slogan, the prosecutor’s office said.
Höcke, a former history teacher, and the public would have known it was a banned Nazi slogan, the prosecutor argued.
Höcke denied on Monday that he wanted to encourage the crowd to sing the rest of the slogan, claiming he was surprised when they did so.
“I am also completely innocent in this case. I know that I am being convicted. But it does not feel fair to me,” 52-year-old Höcke said on Monday.
Höcke also said that he does not see why the slogan should be banned. He said the phrase was made from “everyday words” that the Nazi SA had also used.
His lawyers argued on Monday that the court had no jurisdiction in the case, and also complained about a media “barrage” against their client. They argued that the extensive negative press coverage of Höcke made a fair trial impossible.
In the current proceedings, Höcke is accused of using symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.
On May 14, the regional court in Halle sentenced the AfD politician to a fine of 100 daily rates of €130 ($139) for the same offense following the Merseburg speech.
That judgment is not final. Höcke’s lawyers have filed an appeal.
The AfD is campaigning for three upcoming elections for regional state parliaments: Thuringia and Saxony on September 1 and Brandenburg on September 22. The AfD is high in the polls.
