AfD leader Martin Reichardt faces criticism over alleged Hitler salute

AfD state chairman and Bundestag member Martin Reichardt (Saxony‑Anhalt) is under fire after a 2020 photograph showed him with an outstretched arm. Two eyewitnesses told the magazine Politico that the gesture was a Hitler salute. The AfD rejects the accusation, describing the pose as a "humoristischer Ritterschlag" (humorous knighthood) performed during a party event.

Opposition parties and Saxony‑Anhalt Minister‑President Sven Schulze (CDU) condemned the image, with Schulze calling it "ein Bekenntnis, kein Ausrutscher" and demanding the exclusion or resignation of Reichardt and other involved AfD members. Legal experts noted that the Hitler salute, regardless of the arm used, remains illegal under German law. The controversy escalates ahead of the state election, putting the AfD’s leadership in doubt.