○A man was standing outside in Magdeburg on a Saturday afternoon. Johanni Church (St. John's Church), overlooking the lake with candles, flowers and stuffed animals. Then he said out loud in disbelief. “And they say he supported the AfD. Like. I can't believe the media anymore.”
People had gathered here to pay their respects. A photo of a dead 9-year-old boy was shown. Used rescue blankets were piled up on the roadside as police guarded the empty market.
Although the city's oldest church, St. John's Church, is currently unconsecrated, it holds a special place in the hearts of Magdeburg residents. Even though we are atheists, we commemorate important family events here. I had my formal secular coming-of-age ceremony here, as do many others in this part of eastern Germany. But since Friday night, fresh scars have remained at the site, just meters from the scene of the attack.
That night, a man drove an SUV into a nearby Christmas market, killing five people and injuring 200 others.
Understandably, Magdeburg is still in shock. The Christmas market was a popular gathering place in a city that lost its historic center during World War II and was rebuilt as an airy, spacious space. An angry man from St. John's Church echoed the church's struggle to make sense of the violence, particularly what has since emerged about the attacker.
Once the suspect's nationality was made public, representatives of the far-right Alternative for Germany party immediately sprung into action. Magdeburg mayor Simone Boris could not hold back tears during the election, but Friday night press statementthe AfD declared that such attacks did not occur before 2015, when there was a huge surge in immigration. There were calls for “results'' and for the ruling party to take responsibility.
as details about him have been revealedBut the image of 50-year-old Saudi Arabian Taleb al-Abdelmohsen became even more blurred. The psychiatrist arrived in Germany in 2006 and was later granted political asylum, so in theory even AfD hardliners say they should allow some of the few “genuinely vulnerable” people into Germany. He is one of the
However, Abdulmohsen appears to have been a prolific activist, posting the following: various loose theories on his X account. A recurring theme was open sympathy with the AfD and its anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant stance. Some AfD politicians say the references to the allegations are a “morally reprehensible abuse” of attacks that will damage the party's chances in February's federal elections.
But politics were also involved, and even as AfD officials laid flowers at St. John's University, party lawmaker Arno Bausemer called for “immigration,” the far-right concept of forcing immigrants out of the country. The AfD rallies and silent marches announced on Monday night will be a common sight.
Over the past nine years, I have repeatedly witnessed the AfD take to the streets of my hometown. We succeeded in attracting over 1,000 spectators from an early stage. The topics they rally around have changed over the years, but the noise they make has only gotten more extreme. Sometime in 2023, at a rally called “Peace Rally,” a prominent speaker said, “If there is a government that goes to war against us, we will go to war against this government.” declared. He was talking about Germany's aid to Ukraine.
Initially, the rally helped the then-newly formed party win a shocking 24.3% in the 2016 state election. Currently, the AfD is the only serious challenger to the governing conservatives, but it still holds its ground at the local level. During the coronavirus pandemic, when authorities sought to suppress semi-spontaneous mass demonstrations for public health reasons, it was the AfD that provided support. their own gathering – and offered himself as a troubleshooter on the street and in online chat groups. At the time, the rise of coronavirus conspiracy theorists seemed secondary.
This continued offline presence, especially in working-class cities like Magdeburg, and even smaller towns, offers an opportunity to recreate something historically rare in the former East Germany: an identity based on party affiliation. Far-right parties also exploit a kind of skepticism toward authorities and the media, which many supporters argue is a legacy of the German Democratic Republic's past. The AfD's more extreme positions are often ignored, downplayed, or celebrated.
Two stabbings in the West German cities of Mannheim and Solingen have been the driving force behind the AfD campaign so far. After Magdeburg, party leader Alice Weidel can set the tone for the party. The AfD's leading candidate for national elections has recently been trying to revamp the party's image in a Marine Le Pen-esque way.
Weidel's latest statement focuses not on the background of the suspected Magdeburg attackers, but on the role of the authorities believed to have committed the crime. Ignored multiple warnings before the attack.
Hans-Thomas Tilschneider, an AfD politician in Saxony-Anhalt (capital of which is Magdeburg), may take a different approach. On Facebook, Tilschneider called for a “reduction in globalized migration flows” to counter the arrival of “culturally different” people. Abdul Mohsen has not said anything about the AfD's influence on him.
But Magdeburg has already found another way to mourn. On Saturday night, locals gathered at the Gothic cathedral for a commemorative service. “It's like darkness is falling,” said Evangelical Church Bishop Friedrich Kramer. Thousands of Magdeburg residents listened in silence outside. Kramer had a message for them. “Let's remain open and tolerant of hate speech and violence.”
I have seen enough of how the AfD operates on the ground to know that they not only express sadness and incomprehension, but also vent their anger to their advantage. . I have seen this city turn into a training ground for the party's mass mobilization.
Just a few blocks away from where the bishop was urging restraint, hundreds of people took part in a demonstration organized entirely by neo-Nazis. And immigrant groups reported a sudden increase in threats and insults against people they believed to be Arab or Muslim in Magdeburg.
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Thomas Foryer is a Berlin-based journalist specializing in East German politics.
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