Scandal at Stauffenberg Commemoration: Descendant of Bonhoeffer Removes AfD Wreath at the Bendlerblock

The background to the commemoration is the failed assassination attempt of 20 July 1944: Wehrmacht officers around Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg had attempted to kill dictator Adolf Hitler with a bomb, overthrow National Socialist rule, and end the Second World War. Stauffenberg and three other participants were shot in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock on the evening of 20 July 1944. Today, the site houses the Federal Ministry of Defence.

Reactions and Statements

The AfD parliamentary group confirmed through a spokesperson that it had provided a wreath for the commemoration. Götz Frömming, head of the parliamentary group's working group on history, pointed out that the AfD, as a party represented in the Bundestag, is invited to such official commemorative events. A group spokesperson said: "Ob auch Fraktionsmitglieder anwesend gewesen seien, könne er nicht abschließend sagen."

Korenke, who described himself as a descendant of Bonhoeffer, told dpa: "Viele Nachkommen und dazu gehöre auch ich, empfinden eine wirklich große Wut, wenn wir sehen, dass die AfD hier Kränze ablegt. Das werden wir hier nicht akzeptieren." He thereby expressed the displeasure of relatives of Nazi resistance fighters who apparently regarded the AfD's presence at the commemoration as a provocation.

The keynote address at this year's commemoration was delivered by Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU). Prien, whose great-grandmother was murdered in the Nazi extermination camp Sobibor according to her own account, appeared at the event expressly also as a descendant of victims. She said she stood there also as a "Bürgerin und als Nachfahrin von Opfern und Überlebenden der Shoah".

The Keynote Address by Karin Prien

In substance, Prien drew a connection between the historical resistance and the present. She declared: "Menschen werden nicht als Helden geboren, sie lernen Verantwortung zu übernehmen, lange bevor Freiheit und Menschenwürde auf dem Spiel steht." She thereby pointed to the significance of civic engagement beyond institutional structures.

Prien also emphasised the enduring relevance of the commemoration. The resistance of 20 July and of other groups, she said, served as a reminder that democracy is not upheld by institutions alone. She said: "Sie lebt von einer Ethik der bürgerlichen Verantwortung - von Menschen, die bereit sind, Verantwortung für das Gemeinwesen zu übernehmen, auch wenn dies unbequem ist."

With an eye to the present, the minister formulated: "Die Freiheit von morgen entscheidet sich in unserem Handeln heute." She thereby linked the historical memory of Stauffenberg, Bonhoeffer, and other Nazi resistance fighters with a warning to today's society.

Political Assessment

For the afternoon, a ceremonial swearing-in of 240 Bundeswehr recruits was also planned at the Bendlerblock. This was intended to give the commemoration day, which for decades has been one of the central fixtures of Germany's political culture, a military tribute as well.

The incident casts a spotlight on the long-simmering debate over how the AfD engages with the culture of remembrance regarding the Nazi era. While the parliamentary group defends its participation as a parliamentary ritual, its appearances at memorial sites meet with resolute rejection from parts of the relatives of resistance fighters and victims of the Nazi regime. The present scandal is likely the most public attempt to date to remove such an arrangement on one's own initiative.