Overview
- At a late‑evening AfD podium in Dessau‑Roßlau on Tuesday, kabarettist Uwe Steimle unexpectedly sang the former DDR national anthem “Auferstanden aus Ruinen” and AfD leaders Tino Chrupalla and Ulrich Siegmund smiled and joined in with the audience.
- Federal officials and DDR remembrance institutions sharply condemned the scene, with Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei calling it “extremely disquieting” and foundations saying the hymn evokes a repressive SED state and disrespects its victims.
- The AfD initially denied that Chrupalla had sung, then deleted social‑media posts as video evidence circulated, while state and regional party spokespeople defended the evening as cabaret and a successful campaign event.
- The Staatsanwaltschaft Dessau‑Roßlau has opened a probe under §126 StGB into Steimle for remarks that invoked Stauffenberg and referenced violence against politicians, and Steimle and his lawyer say the performance was satire and refuse to apologize.
- The episode is shaping debate ahead of the September 6 Sachsen‑Anhalt election because the DDR anthem carries strong symbolic weight in the East, the use of such symbols relates to AfD outreach there, and critics warn the stunt could affect voters and memory politics.