Germany, in 'shock' after secret extremist plan to deport millions of foreigners was revealed

A secret meeting in a luxurious villa near Berlin. A group of neo-Nazis, members of the German far-right and businessmen. And a “master plan” to deport millions of people from the country.

A journalistic investigation from the portal corrective revealed the details of that meeting, which took place in November of last year, which has alarmed many Germans and has generated comparisons with the Nazi era.

In fact, less than 10 kilometers from where the event occurred, the Nazis met in 1942, also in a luxurious villa, to implement the “final solution” against the Jews.

According to journalistic investigation, The November meeting was attended by businessmen, federal and regional parliamentarians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party; a personal assistant to that party's co-leader, Alice Weidel; and even two members of the most conservative wing of the main German opposition party, the CDU.

Likewise, the Austrian Martin Sellner, one of the leaders of the identity movement, who according to corrective presented a “re-emigration” proposal: a project to send about 2 million people to a North African country between asylum seekers, foreigners and even “unassimilated” German citizens.

Another Nazi parallel, since in 1940 came up with the idea to deport up to 4 million Jews to the African island of Madagascar.

Sellner, as well as several of the participants, admitted to having attended the villa. The AfD, for its part, confirmed that Weidel's advisor He was also part of the group, but assured that he did so to present a social media project.

And he added, distancing itself from Sellner's proposalthat the event was private and the party did not participate in the organization or financing of the meeting.

But some party members have added fuel to the fire. Parliamentarian René Springer, for example, wrote in X: “We will return foreigners to their countries of origin. To millions of them. This is not a secret plan. It is a promise.”

Read more: Germany in 2024: a year of crisis and discontent?

Commotion and protests

The meeting has been totally controversial not only because of the parallels with the Nazi era, but also because the AfD has increased in recent months in the polls.

With around 22%, the AfD is the second most popular party nationally, above the three parties that currently form the government coalition.

And in three eastern German regions where elections are due this year, the AfD is even the most popular party, raising fears that a movement with such ideas could become the main political force in the east of the country.

Hence, the news about the secret meeting has generated rejection among the government, members of parliament and German society.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, joined a protest over the weekend in Potsdam, one of several around the country to reject the far-right party.

“Many people in our country are as shocked as I am by the open gathering of right-wing extremists, members of the AfD and enemies of the Constitution,” the chancellor said on his Instagram account.

“It is the job of us Democrats to stand up and oppose them. Our democracy is strong,” he added.

But, in addition to the protests, the meeting in the town has revived the debate about whether the far-right party should be banned, a decision that would be made by the Constitutional Court.

Germany's internal intelligence agency considers several members of the AfD to be right-wing extremists, but a ban on the party would be a much bigger step.

The thorny issue of prohibition

Politicians from different parties have expressed the need to evaluate a possible ban on the party. And one online petitioncreated before the current debate, has more than 600,000 signatures.

Those in favor of banning the AfD consider that it is a threat to democracy and that meetings like the one in November confirm this.

Furthermore, as explained by Well-known Turkish exiled journalist Can Dündarit would be better to ban “radical parties like the AfD” before they win elections, reach government positions and potentially destroy democratic structures.

But others believe that the AfD's positions should be fought in politics and not in the courts.

And they assure that, in addition, the prohibition process, being long and difficult, would give more prominence to the party.

A possible ban “tends to victimize the parties,” Paulina Astroza, who directs the Center for European Studies at the University of Concepción, in Chile, tells France 24.

“This in turn generates empathy for those sectors that do not feel represented by traditional parties,” he adds.

Likewise, there are those who assure that a ban would not eliminate the party's ideas and voters would look for other ways to legitimize themselves.

Hence, the issue of the ban is a thorny one, which in Germany also has few precedents.

The Constitutional Court has banned two parties, both in the 1950s. More recent efforts to ban the neo-Nazi NPD party were unsuccessful. The requirements for a ban are strict.

Hence, a possible trial against the AfD is therefore not guaranteed to be successful.

What is evident, beyond these debates, is that the secret meeting is generating such strong controversy that even the strengths and weaknesses of democracy in Germany are being discussed.