Far-right AfD wins overwhelming victory in eastern German state elections, spreading alarm among immigrants and cultural institutions

[Magdeburg Current Affairs] The far-right party ``Alternative for Germany (AfD)'' won an overwhelming victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliamentary election in eastern Germany held on the 6th. The extremist claims touting patriotism and attacking immigrants are reminiscent of the Nazis, and there is a growing sense of alarm among those who are targeted for attack.

Far-right AfD wins overwhelming victory to become the largest party, failing to reach majority, Merz's ruling party suffers crushing defeat - former East German state parliamentary election

"They (foreigners) come in droves and try to waste our money. Even if you're lazy (in Germany), you get good food. Even if you stab someone with a knife, they'd rather live here in a prison than in a free country far away." It was AfD's state lawmaker Til Schneider who made such blatantly racist remarks at a rally last March. He is considered to be one of the central figures in policy planning.

"Words are becoming more violent. If you keep hearing them, they start to feel like the truth. That's scary." Mika Kaiyama (63) from Tokyo, who has lived in eastern Germany for 35 years, says she has witnessed racial discrimination for many years, but has never felt a crisis like this.

Ramza, a mutual aid organization in which Kaiyama serves as executive director and brings together more than 120 diverse immigrant groups in the state, is preparing for the suspension of state subsidies, which account for half of its operating funds. Kaiyama says there is even a tendency to think that if we expel foreigners, Germany will return to its original state. ``It's not just an issue of immigration, but media freedom and the independence of the judiciary are also being undermined.The most dangerous thing, both in the past and now, is not to take this issue seriously.''

AfD's criticism also extends to Bauhaus, one of the most representative art schools of the 20th century. The school building in Dessau, in the central part of the state, has been designated as a World Heritage Site as a driving force behind the "modernism" movement, which emphasizes functionality without being bound by tradition. The AfD's hostile stance, which it sees as aiming to "eliminate (German) identity," is similar to that of the Nazis, who suppressed the Bauhaus and forced it to close in 1933.

The Foundation, which manages and exhibits Bauhaus heritage, warned that if the AfD were to come to power, it would have a "direct impact on its operations," and countered that the AfD's ``edRight cultural policy'' severely narrows its cultural perspective.''

Newspapers and television have been critical of the AfD, but its supporters have objected, saying, ``They want to portray them as Nazis, but I've never heard a speech like that,'' and ``The news is too one-sided.'' In its pledge, the AfD has threatened to cut funding to public broadcasters, saying they are "not politically neutral".