Overview

The Alternative für Deutschland or the AfD is a far-right political party in Germany whose popularity has been on the rise in recent years. Translated to English, the name reads “Alternative for Germany”. Their beliefs are viewed as extreme and their members have been known to associate with far-right extremists. The party has grown to be known as “Neo-Nazis” and their views have been classified as anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, euro-sceptic, and pro-Russian.

History 

Established only twelve years ago, the party was first formed in 2013 and received less than 5% of the overall vote in the federal election that year, according to Aljazeera. Since then, the party has grown exponentially to become the second largest party in Germany, holding 158 seats in the Bundestag (the parliament of Germany), compared with the leading party, which currently has 208 seats. In the most recent election, which took place in 2025, the AfD received 20.8% of the vote, doubling the results of the previous election.

Extreme views

According to various speeches and meetings, along with AfD’s official, “Manifesto for Germany: The Political Programme for the Alternative for Germany”, which outlines the party’s stance on various national issues, the AfD has expressed a variety of extreme views. The AfD wants to split from the European Union, focus on “re-migration plans” to crack down on foreign immigrants, including those who have German citizenship, and reinstate a conscription policy for 18-year-old men. These topics could pose a lot of issues for those who fall under the AfD’s description of “non-native Germans”, foreigners, and those who would fall under the umbrella of Islam, Jewish, Middle-Eastern, etc.

Why it’s a problem

The AfD poses a significant issue to the rest of Germany, Europe, and the world. If left unchecked, this political party could easily rise to power within the next 4 years, when the next federal election is scheduled to take place. On top of the extreme ideals of the AfD, The Guardian reports that several AfD members were reportedly involved in the Potsdam meeting of November, 2023, in which attendees reportedly made plans similar to the Nazi regime’s Madagascar plan to deport 4 million Jews, and the Final Solution to the Jewish Question to commit genocide against the Jewish people.

What needs to change

Although the root of the problem lies with voters and their opinions, there are a few things that can be done to help Germany.

We can advocate for a formal investigation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Germany’s domestic intelligence agency) into the party and its ties to extremists. This could provide the public with more information about the AfD, and the level of a problem that it is.

We can also call for a better system to mandate educating voters about the dangers of far-right extremism and why voting for the AfD is a problem. Voters are the root of this problem and educating voters on their choices in the election could slow the growth of the AfD, and its popularity would decrease.

Finally, we can call for the disbanding of the AfD and banning any future far-right parties from forming. This would end the problem once and for all. Eliminating all far-right parties that pose a threat to democracy would solve Germany’s problem for good. It would establish a level of security in Germany and would ensure that Nazis would never again have power

 

Call to action

There are a few things that we can do to help with this issue. So far, German protesters, as well as German politicians, have been raising awareness and calling for change. We can help with this by raising awareness in North America and the rest of Europe by advocating for change and calling for a solution. We can call upon our national government to intervene and to step in to prevent the AfD from coming to power. We can also participate in peaceful protests to raise awareness and protest the AfD and what it stands for. By signing this petition, you are standing up to Nazis and the rise of fascism in Germany.