Heidenau

A widely shared German-language commentary argues that Heidenau is another telling statement by the Union about itself rather than about the AfD or the state of democracy. The author criticises the party for repeating for years the mantra that Nazis must be confronted 'on substance' instead of being banned, questioning what that record reveals about the centre-right's own stance on extremism.

Local politicians in Heidenau, Germany, have banned the installation of new Stolpersteine — the brass commemorative stones laid to remember victims of the Nazis. According to DW, the move was driven by the AfD with support from the CDU. Critics see it as a troubling signal about how Holocaust remembrance is being handled in parts of eastern Germany.