Memorial Site Slams AfD Party Congress for Violating Nazi Victims’ Dignity

According to Junge Freiheit, the KZ-Gedenkstätte Moringen memorial organization has launched a coordinated campaign against the Northeim district AfD chapter’s scheduled meeting in the town’s civic hall. Stefan von Huene, chairman of the memorial association, told the EPD news agency that the organization refuses to accept what he called a “proven right-wing extremist party” holding an event near the site.

Von Huene expressed particular concern that the town hall designated for the party conference sits approximately ten meters from the former concentration camp grounds and thirty meters from the memorial facility itself. He claimed that if the AfD were to organize such an event near the Buchenwald memorial, it would trigger a nationwide scandal.

Memorial Organizes Counter-Demonstration With Union Support

The memorial site has announced plans to stage what it describes as a “colorful street festival for democracy, diversity and remembrance” on the day of the AfD conference, framing the event as necessary to “protect” the institution. The initiative has drawn backing from the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) and the local Moringen church congregation.

The formal rally permit was filed by “Omas gegen Rechts” (Grandmothers Against the Right), a left-wing activist group. In promotional materials, organizers accused the AfD of mocking countless victims of National Socialist persecution and seeking to abolish their remembrance, claiming such efforts endanger German democracy.

Memorial Receives Extensive Taxpayer Funding

The political activism undertaken by the Moringen memorial comes as the facility benefits from substantial public funding. Since January 1, 2025, the Northeim district government has committed to covering forty percent of personnel and operational costs for the organization.

For 2025 alone, this arrangement provides up to 87,300 euros in subsidies. The district has structured this funding without time limits and with automatic adjustments for rising costs to ensure planning security. Additional financial support flows from the city of Moringen and the Lower Saxony Memorial Sites Foundation.

District administrator Astrid Klinkert-Kittel of the Social Democratic Party defended the expenditure despite the district’s heavy debt burden. She argued that suitable facilities are necessary to strengthen the memorial as a historical learning site and enable it to accommodate multiple school classes simultaneously.

The incident highlights growing tensions in Germany over the role of publicly funded cultural institutions in partisan political activities, particularly as the AfD continues to gain electoral strength across the country while facing coordinated opposition from state-supported organizations.

With information from Junge Freiheit