Patriotische Plattform

Patriotische Plattform (PP) was a German far-right, völkisch-nationalist association that operated from 2014 to 2018 as an internal faction of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). It was founded and led by Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, who initiated the project in early 2014 and published its first website post on 28 January 2014. The association itself was formally established on 29 March 2014 in Weimar. Its motto was "Mut zu Deutschland" (Courage for Germany), and its founding declaration stated that it was an association of AfD members and friends, not an organ of the party. The PP functioned as an organized right-wing faction within the AfD, aiming to influence the party without being fully captured by its formal structures. Its leadership included Dubravko Mandic, Norbert Mayer, Taras Maygutiak, Benjamin Nolte, Sebastian Pella, Jürgen Ptucha, Ralf Schutt, and Tillschneider as speaker. Later board members included Jan Moldenhauer, Alexander Tassis, and Jens Maier. The association had members nationwide, including some senior AfD politicians. According to a report by the Danish newspaper Politiken, by early 2017 about one third of the AfD's 26,000 members belonged to it. Ideologically, the PP was classified by political scientists as part of the AfD's right-wing extremist and völkisch-nationalist spectrum. It was one of the first intra-party currents to mobilize for an anti-Islam orientation of the AfD, though it argued not on religious-critical grounds but in völkisch-nationalist and racist terms. A position paper stated: "The problem is not Islam, the problem is the multicultural society." In 2014 it published a statement titled "Solidarität mit Israel – Solidarität mit Deutschland," which expressed support for Israel and Judaism in Germany while also criticizing what it described as insufficient solidarity from those quarters. Political scientists Marc Grimm and Bodo Kahmann criticized this as presenting Jews as a homogeneous group and as perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes. The PP also expressed support for closer cooperation between the Identitarian Movement and the AfD, stating that both were "identitarian" and "alternative" movements, and it did not consider itself bound by the AfD's 2016 incompatibility resolution. In September 2018, the association's board applied for its self-dissolution. The PP thus ceased to exist as an organized entity, though its former members and ideological currents remained part of the AfD's far-right wing. The domain patriotische-plattform.de is now offered for sale, indicating that the original website is no longer active.

The Patriotische Plattform (PP) was initiated in early 2014 by Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, who published its first website post on 28 January 2014. The website featured a "Founding Declaration of the Patriotische Plattform" under the motto "Mut zu Deutschland" (Courage for Germany) and the guiding principle: "Democracy is endangered when it loses its patriotism." The declaration stated: "The Patriotische Plattform is an association of members and friends of the AfD that is under construction. We are not an organ of the party and do not speak in its name." It also included a plea for patriotism and a "Get involved" section inviting interested parties to email Dr. Hans-Thomas Tillschneider. The association was formally founded on 29 March 2014 in Weimar. Its board initially included Dubravko Mandic, Norbert Mayer, Taras Maygutiak, Benjamin Nolte, Sebastian Pella, Jürgen Ptucha, Ralf Schutt, and Tillschneider as speaker. At the end of 2014, Benjamin Nolte, a member of the far-right Burschenschaft Danubia München, together with some fraternity members and former members of the anti-Islam micro-party Die Freiheit (which was under observation by the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution), founded the Patriotische Plattform in Bavaria. In November 2016, a new eight-member board was elected. Tillschneider and Nolte remained on it. New members included Jan Moldenhauer, a staff member of the AfD parliamentary group in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, and Alexander Tassis, an AfD representative in Bremen, as secretary. Later, Jens Maier, an AfD representative from Saxony, also joined the board. The association had members nationwide, including some senior AfD politicians. According to a report by the Danish newspaper Politiken, by early 2017 about one third of the AfD's 26,000 members belonged to it. Ideologically, the PP was one of the first intra-party currents to mobilize for an anti-Islam orientation of the AfD. However, it argued not on religious-critical grounds but in völkisch-nationalist and racist terms. One of its position papers stated: "The problem is not Islam, the problem is the multicultural society." The rejection of Islam served as a cipher for the defense against any immigration by "strangers." In 2014, the PP published a statement titled "Solidarität mit Israel – Solidarität mit Deutschland," which said "We stand by Israel and by Judaism in Germany," but also complained about a lack of solidarity from Israel and Jews in Germany and demanded more support from them "in our confrontation with Islamic associations." Political scientists Marc Grimm and Bodo Kahmann criticized that this presented Jews "as a homogeneous group" and made the undemocratic demand for unified support, and that representatives of Judaism in Germany who publicly contradicted the positions of right-wing radical parties (in this case Charlotte Knobloch, who had spoken in favor of establishing the Munich Islamic Center in 2010) were sharply criticized. This "denunciation" of Knobloch, they argued, pointed to "a transmission of antisemitic affects and stereotypes in the pro-Israel and pro-Jewish declarations of the AfD." Regarding the anti-constitutional "Identitarian Movement," the PP stated: "We wish for closer cooperation between the Identitarian Movement and the AfD, because the AfD is also an identitarian movement and the Identitarian Movement is also an alternative for Germany." The PP did not feel bound by the AfD's incompatibility resolution passed in 2016. Its closeness to the Identitarian Movement and its positions was controversial within the AfD. In political science, the PP was assessed as part of the right-wing extremist wing of the AfD or the völkisch-nationalist spectrum. Oskar Niedermayer classified the group in 2015 as "decidedly national-conservative." In September 2018, the association's board applied for the self-dissolution of the association. The PP thus ceased to exist as an organized entity.

• Hans-Thomas Tillschneider publishes the first post on the new Patriotische Plattform website.

• The Patriotische Plattform is formally founded as an association in Weimar.

• Benjamin Nolte and others found the Patriotische Plattform in Bavaria.

• A new eight-member board is elected; Tillschneider and Nolte remain, joined by Jan Moldenhauer and Alexander Tassis.

• The association's board applies for the self-dissolution of the association.

Far-right, völkisch-nationalist faction within the AfD; anti-Islam, anti-EU, and close to the Identitarian Movement.

1. 1Der Domainname patriotische-plattform.de steht zum Verkaufts.domainname.de
2. 2Patriotische Plattformwikidata.org
3. 3Patriotische Plattformde.wikipedia.org