Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party has expelled a member of its state parliamentary group in Berlin because of a photograph showing the politician posing in front of wine bottles with Hitler labels.
The action comes as leaders of AfD make attempts to clear extremist members from their ranks over fears the group could be put under state surveillance.
The photos of Jessica Bießmann show her lying on her side on a kitchen counter. On a shelf in the background are four bottles, each with a label showing a picture of Adolf Hitler.
Bießmann, who was elected to Berlin’s state parliament in 2016 and was family spokesperson for the AfD group, told Germany’s daily national newspaper Bild that she regretted that the photograph had been taken.
Warum liegt man auf dem Küchentisch, lässt sich fotografieren und hat im Hintergrund noch Hitler-Wein stehen? Ich verstehe es nicht 🤷♂️ @politikundliebe hat die #AfD-Politikerin Jessica Bießmann aus #Berlin so auf alten Fotos auf MySpace entdeckt. pic.twitter.com/00TgTyyExz
— Jan-Henrik Wiebe (@jan_wiebe) October 13, 2018
She said she had not noticed the wine bottles and that the picture had been taken in the house of a former friend. It was uploaded to social media more than 10 years ago and recently reappeared on Twitter.
AfD’s Berlin state and parliamentary group head, Georg Pazderski, said the photos were unacceptable. He said the Berlin AfD had also begun proceedings to expel Bießmann from the party.
There have been increasing calls for Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to monitor the AfD over mounting evidence of its links to neo-Nazi groups.
Hat die #afd Abgeordnete @JessicaBiessman da etwa "Führerwein" in ihrer Wohnküche stehen?🤔 pic.twitter.com/y7NdddQMG2
— Felix Langdòn Algêr (@politikundliebe) October 10, 2018
AfD members marched alongside the protest group Pegida, which stands for Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West, and other far-right groups, following a series of far-right gatherings in the eastern German city of Chemnitz.
Earlier demonstrations, held after the stabbing of a local man allegedly by two immigrants, involved far-right supporters making illegal Hitler salutes, while videos emerged showing immigrants being chased through the streets of the city.
Generally speaking Germany’s domestic security agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV, is authorised to collect and analyse information on any party, sub-organisation or individual politician, if they are seen as a threat to the country’s democracy. The agency could use open sources such as newspapers, party programmes and pamphlets, but would also be able to use measures such as tapping phones and intercepting mail.
The AfD is keen to avoid such surveillance. Speaking this week, the co-leader of the federal party, Jörg Meuthen, said that some of the party’s “problematic” members had been persuaded to leave.
However, party leaders have also said that if the group were surveilled they would look at challenging the decision in the European court of human rights.
