Chapter 67: Compatibility List

265     launched in 2020  “Abascal Promotes a Letter with American Politicians Against Communism,” Infobae, October 26, 2020, www.infobae.com/america/agencias/2020/10/26/abascal-promueve-una-carta-con-politicos-americanos-contra-el-comunismo/, via Google Translate.

265     led by Santiago Abascal “Abascal Promotes a Letter with American Politicians Against Communism,” www.infobae.com/america/agencias/2020/10/26/abascal-promueve-una-carta-con-politicos-americanos-contra-el-comunismo/.

265     more active . . . in mobilizing. . . in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking nations Ángel Munárriz, “The Far Right Is Moving Closer to the Old Dream of a ‘Nationalist International,’” El País English, December 21, 2024, english.elpais.com/international/2024-12-22/the-far-right-is-moving-closer-to-the-old-dream-of-a-nationalist-international.html; and Richard M. Sanders, “Spain’s Vox Sets Its Sights on Latin America,” World Politics Review, December 14, 2021, www.worldpoliticsreview.com/vox-spain-s-far-right-seek-ties-with-latin-america/.

265     “more than 700 million people” . . . part . . . “a community of . . .” Disenso Foundation, “Madrid Charter: In Defense of Freedom and Democracy in the Iberosphere,” Madrid Forum, October 26, 2020, fundaciondisenso.org/carta-de-madrid-en-defensa-de-la-libertad-y-la-democracia-en-la-iberosfera/, via Google Translate.

265     included José Antonio Kast of Chile and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni  Disenso Foundation, “Madrid Charter,” fundaciondisenso.org/carta-de-madrid-en-defensa-de-la-libertad-y-la-democracia-en-la-iberosfera/.

265     organized a “Europa Viva 24” rally  Teresa Medrano, “Europe’s Far Right Groups Launch Unofficial Campaign for the European Union Elections,” Associated Press (AP) News, May 19, 2024, apnews.com/article/spain-far-right-eu-elections-99d69ee4255214c5386625350432e9f5#.

265     nearly 11,000 people . . . in Madrid  David Latona, “Spain’s Far-Right Vox Holds Mass Rally with Argentina’s Milei and Foreign Allies,” Reuters, May 19, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-far-right-vox-holds-mass-rally-with-argentinas-milei-foreign-allies-2024-05-19/.

265     “In the face of globalism we must . . .”  Santiago Abascal quoted in Medrano, “Europe’s Far Right Groups Launch Unofficial Campaign for the European Union Elections,” apnews.com/article/spain-far-right-eu-elections-99d69ee4255214c5386625350432e9f5#.

265     all spoke live or via video  “PM Orbán Calls for Patriotic Fighters in Europe,” Hungary Today, May 21, 2024, hungarytoday.hu/pm-orban-calls-for-patriotic-fighters-in-europe/; Medrano, “Europe’s Far Right Groups Launch Unofficial Campaign for the European Union Elections,” apnews.com/article/spain-far-right-eu-elections-99d69ee4255214c5386625350432e9f5#; and Latona, “Spain’s Far-Right Vox Holds Mass Rally with Argentina’s Milei and Foreign Allies,” www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-far-right-vox-holds-mass-rally-with-argentinas-milei-foreign-allies-2024-05-19/.

265     had come . . . for Vox’s “Viva 22 Rally”  Joseph Wilson and Alicia León, “Trump Speaks Via Video at Rally of Global Far-Right in Spain,” AP News, October 9, 2022, apnews.com/article/donald-trump-hungary-spain-italy-3ae6083fae3f01c4cbda192e35f368db.

265     all sent videos Carlos Perona Calvete, “VOX Viva 22 Rally in Madrid,” European Conservative, October 11, 2022, europeanconservative.com/articles/news/vox-viva-22-rally-in-madrid/; and Wilson and León, “Trump Speaks Via Video at Rally of Global Far-Right in Spain,” apnews.com/article/donald-trump-hungary-spain-italy-3ae6083fae3f01c4cbda192e35f368db.

265     “We must stand up for our traditions . . .”  “Video Message from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to VIVA 22 Participants,” About Hungary, October 9, 2022, abouthungary.hu/speeches-and-remarks/video-message-from-prime-minister-viktor-orban-to-viva-22-participants.

266     listened to . . . Los Meconios perform a song. “We’re going back to ’36” . . .  “Spain Rights Group Seeks Probe of Civil War Lyrics at Far-Right Rally,” Reuters, October 10, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-rights-group-seeks-probe-civil-war-lyrics-far-right-rally-2022-10-10/.

266     Beginning in 1936 . . . led an armed rebellion . . .  “Rights Group Seeks Probe of Civil War Lyrics at Far-Right Rally,” www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-rights-group-seeks-probe-civil-war-lyrics-far-right-rally-2022-10-10/; and Richard Nelsson, comp., “The Spanish Civil War Begins—Archive, 1936,” The Guardian, July 14, 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2021/jul/14/panish-civil-war-begins-july-1936.

266     Aided by “Throughout the three years of the conflict, Hitler and Mussolini provided the Spanish Nationalist Army with crucial military support. Some 5,000 German air force personnel served in the Condor Legion, which provided air support for coordinated ground attacks against Republican positions and carried out aerial bombings on Republican cities. The most notorious of these attacks came on April 26, 1937, when German and Italian aircraft leveled the Basque town of Gernike (Guernica in Spanish) in a three-hour campaign that killed 200 civilians or more. Fascist Italy supplied some 75,000 troops in addition to its pilots and planes. Spain became a military laboratory to test the latest weaponry under battlefield conditions.” “Spanish Civil War,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, accessed February 27, 2025, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/spanish-civil-war.

266     won the Spanish Civil War in 1939  “Spanish Civil War,” encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/spanish-civil-war.

266     ruled as dictator until his death on November 20, 1975  Henry Giniger, “Franco Is Dead in Madrid at 82,” New York Times, November 20, 1975, www.nytimes.com/1975/11/20/archives/new-jersey-pages-franco-is-dead-in-madrid-at-82-juan-carlos-to-take.html.   

266     received invitations . . . a “minimum” of €5,000  Marcus Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” Correctiv, January 15, 2024, correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

266     “We need patriots who are ready . . .”  “Düsseldorf Forum” invitation quoted in Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

266     AfD’s “biggest known donor” was Hartmut Issmer  Thomas Escritt, “Rich and Retired: The Boom Beneficiaries Who Finance Germany’s Far Right,” Reuters, April 2, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/europe/rich-retired-boom-beneficiaries-who-finance-germanys-far-right-2024-04-02/.

266     extremely wealthy construction engineer . . . from the real estate boom . . . Escritt, “Rich and Retired: The Boom Beneficiaries Who Finance Germany’s Far Right,” www.reuters.com/world/europe/rich-retired-boom-beneficiaries-who-finance-germanys-far-right-2024-04-02/.

266     in the 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall  Von Mark Waffel, “Why the Global Housing Market Boom Bypassed Germany” Spiegel International, May 28, 2008, www.spiegel.de/international/business/real-estate-doldrums-why-the-global-housing-market-boom-bypassed-germany-a-552901.html.

266     his walrus mustache, he’d appeared . . . to lecture . . . about immigrants of color . . .  Escritt, “Rich and Retired: The Boom Beneficiaries Who Finance Germany’s Far Right,” www.reuters.com/world/europe/rich-retired-boom-beneficiaries-who-finance-germanys-far-right-2024-04-02/.

266     Most of the AfD’s major donors . . . over age sixty-five, super-wealthy The “many businessmen giving between 10,000 and 50,000 euros—who make up around 20% of donations—are disproportionately influential. Most of the 100 or so in that category each year since 2018 are elected officials tithing part of their salary. The dozen or so who are not, with gifts ranging between 10,000 and 30,000 euros, tended to be, like Issmer, over 65 and prosperous, with successful careers in small business, often real estate, law, or light manufacturing behind them.” Escritt, “Rich and Retired: The Boom Beneficiaries Who Finance Germany’s Far Right,” www.reuters.com/world/europe/rich-retired-boom-beneficiaries-who-finance-germanys-far-right-2024-04-02/.

266     longing . . . before immigrants of color arrived  Besides Issmer and Hans Christian Limmer, who helped facilitate the remigration meeting held at Landhaus Adlon in November 2023, another major AfD donor is “Henning Zoz, who owns a small machine tooling company . . . Like Issmer, he was disgusted at former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ‘autocratic’ decision to let a million refugees stay in Germany in 2016.” Escritt, “Rich and Retired: The Boom Beneficiaries Who Finance Germany’s Far Right,” www.reuters.com/world/europe/rich-retired-boom-beneficiaries-who-finance-germanys-far-right-2024-04-02/.

266     German-Swiss billionaire . . . a property empire . . . Germany and . . . London  Nathaniel Flakin, “Red Flag: Does Your Rent Finance the AfD?” Berliner, July 7, 2021, www.the-berliner.com/politics/red-flag-rent-finance-afd/; and Philip Oltermann, “London Property Empire Amassed by Controversial German Landlord,” The Guardian, May 11, 2014, www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/11/london-property-empire-controversial-german-landlord.

266     who lives in Switzerland part-time  Henning Conle reportedly divides his time between Zurich and London. Flakin, “Red Flag: Does Your Rent Finance the AfD?” www.the-berliner.com/politics/red-flag-rent-finance-afd/; and Sabine am Orde, “The big AfD financier?” Die Tageszeitung (taz), March 10, 2021, taz.de/Immobilienhai-Henning-Conle/!5752727/, via Google Translate.

266     sending a donation . . . through a Swiss pharmaceutical company  “AfD’s Weidel Under Investigation,” Deutsche Welle (DW), November 14, 2018, www.dw.com/en/german-prosecutors-to-investigate-far-right-afds-alice-weidel-over-donations/a-46297686; and Sven Röbel, “New Lead Leads to Entrepreneur in Switzerland,” Der Spiegel, April 4, 2019, www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-spendenaffaere-neue-spur-fuehrt-zu-schweizer-unternehmer-a-1261299.html, via Google Translate.

266     ran afoul of German campaign finance law “AfD’s Alice Weidel Under Official Investigation,” DW, November 20, 2018, www.dw.com/en/afd-donor-scandal-weidel-under-official-investigation/a-46384979. 

266     restricts donations  For the particulars of the law, see “Donations to Political Parties from Foreign Sources,” in "Regulation of Foreign Involvement in Elections: Germany,” Law Library of Congress, December 30, 2020, accessed via Wayback Machine, May 27, 2024 capture, web.archive.org/web/20240527073137/http://maint.loc.gov/law/help/elections/foreign-involvement/germany.php.

266     sent back . . . after using some of it  “AfD’s Alice Weidel Under Investigation,” www.dw.com/en/afd-donor-scandal-weidel-under-official-investigation/a-46384979. 

267     Weidel’s personal aide . . . “unofficial general secretary of AfD,” attended  Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     “significant sway on the . . .” Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     AfD chair in the Potsdam district, attended Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     So did  . . . pushed for remigration back in 2017  Huy confirmed her attendance at the 2023 remigration meeting in a phone call with the Guardian. In that same phone call, Huy said, “In 2017, I presented my party association chairman with plans for a re-migration programme for non-German nationals who can’t find their way into the labour market, which were not picked up by the party . . . I still stand by those proposals.” Gerrit Huy quoted in Philip Oltermann, “Politicians From Germany’s AfD Met Extremist Group to Discuss Deportation ‘Masterplan,’” The Guardian, January 10, 2024, www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/10/politicians-from-germany-afd-met-extremist-group-to-discuss-deportation-masterplan. See also Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     as well . . . leader of AfD’s parliamentary group . . . Saxony-Anhalt Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     an Austrian neurosurgeon, two hotel employees  Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     a distant relative of . . . Otto von Bismarck Thomas Escritt and Andreas Rinke, “Far-Right Party Denies Backing Deportation of ‘Unassimilated’ Germans,” Reuters, January 16, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/europe/afd-denies-any-plan-deport-germans-after-officials-hear-proposal-2024-01-10/.

267     “an IT businessman” . . . “die-hard Nazi” Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267     “neo-Nazi with a criminal record who . . .”  Maik Baumgärtner and Ann-Katrin Müller, “The True Proximity of Germany's AfD to Neo-Nazis,” Spiegel International, July 27, 2023, www.spiegel.de/international/germany/dangerous-liaisons-the-true-proximity-of-germany-s-afd-to-neo-nazis-a-e69c51d3-4b3c-49d2-8d54-d7b0a19c3f9a?sara_ref=re-xx-cp-sh.

267     “on the topic of attacking leftwing activists”  Kate Connolly, “Turmoil in Germany Over Neo-Nazi Mass Deportation Meeting—Explained,” The Guardian, January 19, 2024, www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/19/turmoil-in-germany-over-neo-nazi-mass-deportation-meeting-explained.

267     the son . . . managed the AfD’s social media accounts  Jon Shelton, “Germany: Report Shows Deeper AfD Ties to Potsdam Meeting,” DW, January 31, 2024, www.dw.com/en/germany-report-shows-deeper-afd-ties-to-potsdam-meeting/a-68127057.

267     In 1990 “The ‘Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend’ was founded in 1990 as ‘Die Heimattreue Jugend’—‘HJ’ for short. Since the abbreviation is banned in Germany, the association was renamed ‘Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend’ in October 2001.” “HDJ banned,” DW, March 31, 2009, www.dw.com/de/heimattreue-deutsche-jugend-verboten/a-4142751, via Google Translate.

267     co-founded . . . Patriotic German Youth Shelton, “Germany: Report Shows Deeper AfD Ties to Potsdam Meeting,” www.dw.com/en/germany-report-shows-deeper-afd-ties-to-potsdam-meeting/a-68127057.

267     a splinter group . . . League of Patriotic Youth  Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/; and “Germany Bans Far-Right Youth Group,” Reuters, March 31, 2009, www.reuters.com/article/world/germany-bans-far-right-youth-group-idUSTRE52U2F5/.

267     other founder: Mörig’s brother-in-law Shelton, “Germany: Report Shows Deeper AfD Ties to Potsdam Meeting,” www.dw.com/en/germany-report-shows-deeper-afd-ties-to-potsdam-meeting/a-68127057.

267     an AfD politician in . . . Plön  Stephanie Munk, “Potsdam Meeting of Right-Wing Extremists: AfD Was Apparently Even More Involved,” Frankfurter Rundschau, January 31, 2024, www.fr.de/politik/afd-potsdam-geheimtreffen-vorstand-weidel-moerig-vortrag-budget-dasing-haleba-schmid-abgeordnete-zr-92806072.html, via Google Translate.

267     placed . . . on its “incompatibility list,” refusing party membership . . . “Local AfD leaders in Plön told researchers that they had been unaware of Grebien’s past activities.” Shelton, “Germany: Report Shows Deeper AfD Ties to Potsdam Meeting,” www.dw.com/en/germany-report-shows-deeper-afd-ties-to-potsdam-meeting/a-68127057.

267     the lawyer who represented the AfD in court Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

267–268 “about postal votes, legal processes . . .”  Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

268     suggested drafting a letter . . . met with applause  Bensmann et al., “Sec Secret Plan Against Germany ret plan against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

268     Another meeting attendee, Silke Schröder  Bensmann et al., “Secret Plan Against Germany,” correctiv.org/en/latest-stories/2024/01/15/secret-plan-against-germany/.

268     interviewed Weidel . . . on TV Berlin  See TV Berlin, “Politicum—“AfD im Aufwind—bald der Rin egierung?” YouTube, July 10, 2023, youtu.be/2dAXKWfut_Q?si=hjpnXsMxbiNX_vJg.

268     worked . . . for the Deutschland-Kurier Matthias Meisner, “What Correctiv’s research Has to Do with Local Broadcaster ‘TV Berlin,’” Volksverpetzer, January 28, 2024, www.volksverpetzer.de/aktuelles/correctiv-tv-berlin/, via Google Translate.

268     has provided campaign assistance to the AfD  Melanie Amann et al., “A Billionaire Backer and the Murky Finances of the AfD,” Spiegel International, November 30, 2018, www.spiegel.de/international/germany/billionaire-backing-may-have-helped-launch-afd-a-1241029.html.

268     “Remigration or Islamization—Europe at the crossroads!” Silke Schröder, “Schröder’s Weekly Review: Remigration or Islamization—Europe at the Crossroads!” Deutschland-Kurier, November 17, 2023,  deutschlandkurier.de/2023/11/schroeders-wochenrueckblick-remigration-oder-islamisierung-europa-am-scheideweg/, via Google Translate.