Antisemitic ideology deeply embedded within the far-right German AfD party, new AJC report shows

The AJC report found that while Germany’s AfD party denies antisemitism, “antisemitic ideas, codes, and narratives” are present throughout its rhetoric, mobilization strategies and memory politics.

A new analysis published by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) on Tuesday claims that antisemitic ideas, conspiracy narratives, and historical revisionism are deeply embedded beneath the surface of Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Authored by Prof. Dr. Lars Rensmann, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Passau who specializes in modern political ideologies, democratic theory, and the comparative study of antisemitism, the report is titled 'Friendly Faces' of antisemitism? Political Antisemitism in the Alternative for Germany Party. 

Rensmann argues that political antisemitism functions as a connective element within the party's broader opposition to modern, pluralist democracy, noting that while the party does not present itself as openly antisemitic and regularly denies harboring antisemitism, "antisemitic ideas, codes, and narratives permeate its rhetoric, mobilization strategies, and memory politics."

The report states that the AfD has evolved from a Eurosceptic protest party founded in 2013 into the central political force of Germany's far-right, serving as a durable parliamentary actor and the largest opposition party in the Bundestag.

According to Rensmann, this transformation has been accompanied by a radicalization in which the party positions itself against liberal democracy while cultivating authoritarian, ethnonationalist, and conspiratorial worldviews.

AfD frames politics into virtuous people versus corrupt domestic elites. external forces

The analysis outlines how the AfD frames politics through a stark friend-enemy logic, dividing society into a supposedly virtuous people versus corrupt domestic elites and external forces. According to Rensmann, this framework "closely mirrors patterns of modern antisemitism, which historically constructed Jews as hidden enemies linking internal 'traitors' with external threats."

Rather than naming Jews explicitly, Rensmann argues that the AfD usually relies on coded language. He points out that references to "globalists," "cosmopolitan elites," or "shadowy financial powers" draw on long-standing antisemitic stereotypes. Furthermore, the study states that the conspiracy myth of a planned "Great Replacement" of the native population "echoes classic fantasies of a Jewish world conspiracy without explicitly mentioning Jews." Investor George Soros serves as a recurring personification of these ideas, with Rensmann noting that "AfD representatives repeatedly portray him as a sinister puppet master orchestrating migration, climate policy, and social change." The author argues that "such narratives revive the core motifs of antisemitic conspiracy theories while maintaining plausible deniability."

The analysis details how the party's ideology has been shaped by ethnonationalism and the demand for remigration, accompanied by the rehabilitation of Nazi rhetoric. Rensmann argues that this worldview is historically inseparable from antisemitism because it frames cultural homogeneity as a prerequisite for survival and attributes national decline to subversive outside influences.

Appropriation of Nazi slogans, ideas, and symbols by party leaders

The report highlights political and legal responses to the frequent appropriation of Nazi slogans, ideas, and symbols by party leaders, such as the SA slogan "Everything for Germany," noting that the AfD claims these references are entirely innocuous and are criticized or prosecuted in bad faith by representatives of the state. Rensmann contends that rehabilitating this language is structurally linked to antisemitism because it reactivates the national-revolutionary imagination of the Nazi era, which historically blamed Jews for modernity, liberalism, and pluralism.

Furthermore, the paper examines historical revisionism and secondary antisemitism arising from defense against memory as political motives of the AfD. Rensmann argues that the party rejects the "cult of guilt," claiming that this stance relativizes Nazi crimes, prevents national pride, and in effect marginalizes Jewish perspectives on history. According to the report, this promotes what scholars describe as secondary antisemitism, defined as "hostility toward Jews arising from resentment about Holocaust remembrance and perceived moral demands." Within this framework, Rensmann states that "Jews appear implicitly as those who prevent a positive national self-image by insisting on confronting German crimes."

Party's attempts to shield itself from antisemitic accusations

The report also addresses how it claims the party attempts to shield itself from accusations of antisemitism by pointing to its supposed pro-Israel positions as proof that it harbors no hostility toward Jewish people. Rensmann argues that this maneuver is entirely instrumental and defensive, noting that "instrumental 'pro-Israel' rhetoric" is deployed by the party "only insofar as it appears to confirm the AfD's own ethnonationalist and anti-migration agenda," such as expressing hostility toward Muslim migrants.

Rensmann claims that this supposed solidarity is selective and disingenuous by highlighting instances where the party exhibits underlying anti-Israel or hostile positions when Israel's actions or existence do not serve nationalist talking points. He notes that the party's foreign policy positions frequently align with anti-Western and authoritarian regimes hostile to Israel, and that its leadership has routinely voted against or opposed cooperative diplomatic frameworks involving Israel while weaponizing the Jewish state merely as a rhetorical tool against political opponents and Muslim immigration.

The paper concludes by stating that far from being an isolated problem, political antisemitism functions as a key mobilizing resource within the AfD's broader challenge to liberal democracy. Rensmann argues that understanding this dynamic is essential for assessing the risks the party poses to democratic culture, minority rights, and social cohesion in Germany.