André Poggenburg
André Poggenburg | |
|---|---|
Poggenburg in 2015 | |
| Leader of Alternative for Germany in Saxony-Anhalt | |
| In office 2014–2018 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Kirchner |
| Member of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt for the 41st district (Zeitz) | |
| In office 2016–2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Reiner Haseloff |
| Preceded by | Arnd Czapek |
| Succeeded by | Lothar Waehler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 12, 1975 |
| Party | Alternative for Germany (2013-2019) Awakening of German Patriots - Central Germany (2019) Independent (2019-2024) Freie Sachsen (2024-present) |
André Poggenburg is a German politician and former member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. He was state chairman of the party in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt and was leading candidate for the 2016 Saxony-Anhalt state elections.[1] After a 2017 leak of his WhatsApp chat, Poggenburg was found to be using the neo-Nazi slogan, "Germany for the Germans".[2] In 2018 he was forced to resign after referring to Germans of Turkish origin as "fatherless vermin" and "camel drivers", who should go back to their "mud huts" and "multiple wives".[2] In spite of this, he remained a member of the AfD federal board until January 2019.
Early life
Poggenburg was born in Weißenfels in the Bezirk Halle of East Germany in 1975.[3][4] He graduated secondary school in 1991 and operated his own radiator repair business from 1994 to 2015, closing the shop to pursue politics.[5][5][3][4] By 2009 was a Vessel and Apparatus builder.[4] He lost his right thumb in an industrial accident.[3]
According to the business credit agency Creditreform he had been issued seven threats of imprisonment over unpaid bills and sources close to him stated he only got into politics due to the 5,600 Euro stipend allotted to members of the state Landtag which would make him financially solvent again.[3] According to Poggenburg, these reports were "strongly exaggerated".[6]
Political career
Alternative for Germany
In 2013 Poggenburg joined Alternative for Germany (AfD), working as the District Chairman for the party in Burgenlandkreis.[4] From 2014 to 2018 he was the State Chairman for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt and from 2015 to 2019 he was on the AfD's Federal Executive Board.[4] He maintained a strong personal hold over the state branch of the party, adopted a Volkish line, and was a member of Björn Höcke's Der Flügel faction.[7][3] However, he has described himself as a "national conservative".[6]
He was elected to the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt in 2016.[4] This election was an immense success for the AfD, going from non-existent to the second largest party in the Landtag with 24.3% of the vote, with this success being credited directly to Poggenburg's leadership by Deutschlandfunk.[3] In the regional Landtag he served as the chairman of the AfD parliamentary group from 2016 to 2018.[4] During this time he served as the chairman of the commission of inquiry into "Left-Wing Extremism in Saxony-Anhalt."[4]
He was highly criticized in the social and broadcast media for prematurely blaming Merkel's open refugee policy for the 2016 Munich shooting perpetrated by Iranian-German Ali Sonboly. The shooter's motive was ultimately ascertained as enacting revenge on his classmates for bullying.
Awakening of German Patriots
Poggenburg resigned as regional party leader for AfD in 2018 after labeling Turks as "camel drivers" and immigrants with dual nationality a "homeless mob we no longer want to have."[8] He left the party in January 2019 to form his own far-right party, Aufbruch der deutschen Patrioten ("Awakening of German Patriots", AdP), but the party immediately came under criticism when it announced that it would use a logo which included a blue cornflower, a symbol associated with the anti-Semitic Schoenerer Movement which was also used by banned Austrian Nazis in the 1930s before the Anschluss in 1938 united Austria with Nazi Germany. Poggenburg has been criticized in the past for his use of vocabulary redolent of Nazi-era Germany.[9]
In August 2019 Poggenburg left his party creation AdP after he lost an infight about the question of supporting the AfD in the upcoming state elections of fall 2019 in Saxony and Brandenburg.[10] He would be succeeded by Benjamin Przybylla as "interim" leader.[11]
Later career
Poggenburg later endorsed the Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons) for the 2024 Saxony state election.[12]
Personal life
Poggenburg is single.[4]
References
- ^ Hochrechnungen: CDU in Sachsen-Anhalt vorne - AfD kommt auf 24 Prozent, Der Spiegel, in German
- ^ a b Bochum, Penny (2020). 'We are the people' : the rise of the AfD in Germany. London. ISBN 978-1-912208-93-7. OCLC 1148877384.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e f Richter, Von Christoph. "Der nette Menschenfeind von nebenan". Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Landtag von Sachsen-Anhalt" (PDF). landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Kandidatenvorstellung André Poggenburg" [André Poggenburg candidate profile] (PDF). Alternative for Germany (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ a b AfD-Wahlsieg als Weg aus dem privaten Finanzdesaster, Die Welt, in German
- ^ Häusler, Alexander. "Die AfD: Werdegang und Wesensmerkmale einer Rechtsaußenpartei". Federal Agency for Civic Education. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ Associated Press (January 10, 2019) "Once-prominent member leaves German far-right party" News1130
- ^ Le Blond, Josie (11 January 2019) "New far-right German party adopts former secret Nazi symbol "New far-right German party adopts former secret Nazi symbol" The Guardian
- ^ "Sensation: Poggenburg verlässt seine eigene Partei und ruft zur Wahl der AfD auf". 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ "Nach Poggenburgs Rückzug: Neuer Parteichef für ADPM". Die Welt. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ "André Poggenburg: "Mit Zweitstimme FREIE SACHSEN wählen!"". Freie Sachsen. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.