AfD leaders sing East German anthem at rally as comedian sparks criminal probe with Merz, Merkel remarks

What happened at the rally

AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla and Saxony-Anhalt's lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund sang the East German national anthem together with several hundred people at a campaign event in Dessau-Roßlau on Tuesday evening. The podium discussion had focused on the topic of peace, and Chrupalla had called for the German national anthem to be sung to close the evening. Cabaret artist Uwe Steimle, a guest on the panel, instead began singing 'Auferstanden aus Ruinen' (Risen from Ruins), the anthem of the former German Democratic Republic. Video from the event shows Chrupalla initially attempting to intervene, saying 'the other one,' but Steimle continued through the first verse. Chrupalla and Siegmund then smiled and joined in, singing parts of the anthem alongside the audience. Afterwards, Chrupalla led the group in singing the German national anthem as well.

Steimle's remarks and the criminal investigation

During the same event, Steimle made remarks about former Chancellor Angela Merkel and current Chancellor Friedrich Merz that have prompted the Dessau-Roßlau public prosecutor's office to open an investigation for disturbing the public peace by threatening criminal acts, Der Spiegel reported. Steimle referred to Merkel as 'das Merkel' and, referencing her official chancellor portrait, said she had chosen to be painted standing 'because she suspects she will soon be sitting.' He added: 'At the moment she is hanging, and if all ropes break or the nail gives way, then we will put her against the wall. We'll think of something.'

When I see Friedrich Merz, I sometimes ask myself: where is Stauffenberg when you really need him?

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg carried out an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in July 1944, for which he was executed by the Nazis. Steimle's comments were met with applause from the audience, and no one on stage objected.

Political and institutional reactions

Chancellery chief Thorsten Frei (CDU) described the singing of the DDR anthem as 'extremely alienating,' telling Welt TV that this applied 'particularly when it is done by political representatives who quite obviously also want to convey political messages with it.' Saxony-Anhalt's FDP parliamentary group leader Andreas Silbersack said he 'would never have dreamed that the DDR anthem would be celebrated here again like this,' adding that people were harassed in the DDR and the system was invasive: 'It was a dictatorship. Some people today seem to forget that.'

It is not just any historical song, but the national anthem of a state that persecuted political opponents and denied its citizens fundamental rights to freedom.

The director of the Stiftung Gedenkstätten Sachsen-Anhalt, Kai Langer, criticised the incident, as did Johannes Beleites, Saxony-Anhalt's commissioner for dealing with the SED dictatorship, who called it 'a disregard for the victims of the SED dictatorship and a disparagement of the people who risked their lives or accepted long prison sentences for freedom and democracy.'

Chrupalla's defence and electoral stakes

Chrupalla dismissed the criticism in comments to Junge Freiheit, saying he did not understand how 'uptight' the reaction was. 'Everything is raised to a scandal. No one can laugh anymore and everything has to be dead serious. Anyone who organises an event with Uwe Steimle knows what's coming. It's so refreshingly different with him.' He added that the text of the DDR anthem 'is magnificent and still fits today.' Saxony-Anhalt holds its state election on 6 September, with the AfD polling at around 40 percent, well ahead of the CDU. Siegmund, 35, has presented a 100-day programme including more deportation detention places, a blanket work obligation for asylum seekers, and termination of the broadcasting state treaty.

People want political change. But this election is not yet won. We should carry this humility within us.

A divided public debate

The incident has split public opinion. Many in social media and reader comment sections argue the outrage is overblown, pointing out that the DDR anthem is not banned and that the German national anthem was sung afterwards. Others, including the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, note that the anthem had not been sung in the DDR since 1972 because its line 'Germany, united fatherland' was politically awkward for the SED leadership. Historian Stefan Wolle told the FAZ that the anthem-singing fits a deliberate AfD strategy in eastern German states, targeting a diffuse mood in which life in the DDR is remembered as nicer, with more collegiality and neighbourliness. 'This is being deliberately pursued by the AfD and is also very successful,' he said, describing how nostalgia among older people combines with a defiant eastern pride among younger generations.