German far-right firebrand in court for using Nazi slogan
One of Germany's most controversial politicians went on trial on Thursday for using a banned Nazi slogan in the run-up to key regional elections that could see him crowned the country's first far-right state premier.
Bjoern Hoecke, 52, is the head of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Thuringia, one of three former East German states where the party is leading opinion polls ahead of regional elections in September.
He stands accused of using the phrase "Alles fuer Deutschland" ("Everything for Germany"), once a motto of the so-called Sturmabteilung paramilitary group that played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, during a 2021 campaign rally.
The phrase is illegal in modern-day Germany, along with the Nazi salute and other slogans and symbols from that era.
The former high school history teacher claims not to have been aware that the phrase had been used by the Nazis, but prosecutors believe Hoecke uttered the words in full knowledge of their "origin and meaning".
Several hundred protesters gathered outside the court in the central city of Halle on Thursday holding banners with slogans such as "Stop the AfD" and "Bjoern Hoecke is a Nazi".
Hoecke entered the courtroom wearing a dark suit and a light blue tie.
If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison -- something that could complicate his election bid.
- 'Memorial of shame' -
The trial, set to last until mid-May, is one of several controversies the AfD is battling ahead of EU elections in June and regional elections in the autumn in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony.
Founded in 2013, the anti-Islam and anti-immigration AfD saw a surge in popularity on its tenth anniversary last year, seizing on concerns over rising migration, high inflation and a stumbling economy.
But its support has wavered since the start of this year as it contends with scandals including allegations that senior party members were paid to spread pro-Russian positions on a Moscow-financed news website.
Considered an extremist by German intelligence services, Hoecke is one of the most controversial AfD personalities, having called Berlin's Holocaust monument a "memorial of shame" and urged a "180-degree shift" in the country's culture of remembrance.
Hoecke stands accused of using the banned slogan at an election rally in Merseburg in the Saxony-Anhalt state in the run-up to Germany's 2021 federal election.
He had also been due to be tried on a second charge of shouting "Everything for..." and inciting the audience to reply "Germany" at an AfD meeting in Thuringia in December.
However, the court decided to separate the proceedings for the second charge, announced earlier this month, because the defence had not had enough time to prepare.
- Image problem -
At the hearing on Thursday, Hoecke's lawyers interrupted the trial several times, including to ask that the proceedings be recorded -- a request denied by the court.
Prosecutor Benedikt Bernzen described the interruptions as "scandalous".
Germany's domestic security agency has labelled the AfD in Thuringia a "confirmed" extremist organisation, along with the party's regional branches in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
However, Johannes Kiess, a political scientist at the University of Leipzig, said the outcome of the trial was unlikely to dent support for Hoecke in Thuringia.
AfD supporters in the region are "convinced that the democratic institutions are out to get him", Kiess told AFP.
"It could even be good for him, because the media are talking about him," he said.
But the trial could sway voters in western Germany because it risks "damaging the party's image", Kiess continued.
"Potential voters do not want to be associated with this kind of statement."
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