Local leader of far-right German party hospitalised after attack
Frank Magnitz was beaten over the head with an unidentified object by at least three men wearing dark clothing in the city of Bremen
A local leader of the Alternative for Germany party has been attacked and injured in the city of Bremen.
Bremen police said they believe the attack on Frank Magnitz, an MP in Germany’s national parliament who leads the party’s local branch, was politically motivated.
They called for witnesses to the attack, which took place early on Monday evening near a city theatre, to come forward.
Mr Magnitz was beaten over the head with an unidentified object by at least three men wearing dark clothing and hoods or hats, who then fled, police said.
Two workers who were loading a car nearby found him lying on the ground and called an ambulance. The 66-year-old was taken to hospital.
The party, known by its German acronym AfD, said earlier that he was ambushed by three masked men, beaten unconscious with a piece of wood and then kicked in the head.
“It was clearly an attempt to murder Mr Magnitz,” AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland told reporters in Berlin.
“This is the result of the ostracism and agitation AfD faces,” he said, suggesting other parties were partly responsible for the attack because they had compared AfD to the Nazis.
The party claims there have been “hundreds” of attacks against its members since its founding in 2013.
Last week, an explosion outside one of its offices in the eastern town of Doebeln damaged windows and doors.
AfD distributed a photo of Mr Magnitz lying on a hospital trolley, showing a bloody, gaping wound on his head and his right eye bruised and swollen.
He told the dpa news agency he had been told he would need to remain in hospital until the weekend and had little memory of the attack.
He added that while he had received threats, he had not considered any of them concrete.
He is associated with the right wing of the party, including its firebrand leader in the eastern state of Thuringia, Bjoern Hoecke.
Bremen, Germany’s smallest state, holds a regional election on May 26, the same day as European Parliament elections in which AfD hopes to make gains.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who has been a strong critic of AfD, tweeted: “Violence must never be a means of political confrontation – no matter against whom or what the motives are.”
“There is no justification for this,” he said, calling for those responsible to be punished.
That was echoed by other politicians from established parties, including prominent Green party politician Cem Ozdemir, who said that AfD must be countered by legal means, not violence.
“Anyone who fights hatred with hatred always lets hatred win in the end,” he wrote on Twitter.
AfD is represented in all of Germany’s 16 state parliaments. It entered the national parliament in 2017 and is currently the biggest opposition party there.
AfD views the country’s established political parties with contempt.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
