Monika Hübscher
The AfD’s Attitude Towards National Socialism, the Holocaust and Antisemitism: A Facebook Analysis
2017 | Full access
The Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) entry into the German Bundestag in September 2017 marks a break with German political tradition after 1945 and the social acceptance of a party from the far right-wing spectrum. During the election campaign, the AfD relied heavily on social media, mostly by using Facebook to spread its agenda. This research on the AfD’s attitude toward National Socialism, the Holocaust and antisemitism on Facebook has shown the party utilizes antisemitic stereotypes to defame political opponents. Further, the AfD instrumentalizes events from the Third Reich to elevate perceived positive aspects, such as resistance against the Nazi regime, and strives to rehabilitate aspects of National Socialism. Symptomatic for the AfD is the concealment of the Holocaust, or its opportunistic use to depict the Germans as victims. Moreover, the interpretation of comments made under the Facebook posts suggest that they have an inciting effect. In the analysis of AfD Facebook posts, it has been found that the attitudes expressed by the AfD conflict with Germany’s self-image as a country that takes responsibility for the Holocaust and that Facebook is becoming an increasingly important tool of shaping the cultural memory of National Socialism and the Holocaust.
Supervisor:
Prof. Moshe Zimmermann