Maximilian Krah

[[File:Maximilian Krah.jpg|165px|right|thumb|Krah in 2016]]
{{politics}}
'''Maximilian Krah''' {{lived|1977}} is a [[German]] [[far-right]] politician and former<ref>[https://www.saechsische.de/politik/parteien/afd/afd-europa-spitzenkandidat-krah-ist-kein-anwalt-mehr-5977683-plus.html AfD-Europa-Spitzenkandidat Krah ist nicht mehr als Anwalt zugelassen] ''Sächsische Zeitung'', March 15, 2024</ref> lawyer. He is the [[AfD]]'s top candidate for the 2024 European elections despite having connections with [[Chinese]] and [[Russian]] spies and having trivialized the atrocities of the [[Waffen-SS]].<ref>[https://taz.de/AfD-waehlt-Krah-zum-EU-Spitzenkandidaten/!5951702/ AfD wählt Krah zum EU-Spitzenkandidaten] ''taz'', July 29, 2023 </ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/german-far-right-maximilian-krah-stop-campaign-eu-parliament-election/ "German far right’s problems deepen after SS remarks"] by Pauline Von Pezold and Paul Dallison, Politico, 2024 May 22</ref> He was ultimately banned from campaigning due to these scandals.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240522-germany-s-far-right-afd-bans-leading-candidate-from-eu-election-events Germany’s far-right AfD bans leading candidate from EU election events], ''France24'' 22 May 2024</ref>

==Biography==
Krah was born in Upper Lusatia, but grew up in Dresden, where he also received his law degree.<ref name=zeit1>[https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-05/alternative-fuer-deutschland-maximilian-krah-afd-europawahl-ostdeutschland Radikaler Aufsteiger] ''Die Zeit'', May 16, 2019 </ref> Like many other AfD politicians and his father, he was a [[CDU]] member before taking a hard right turn. Since 2008, Krah managed parts of the finances of the [[antisemitic]] and archconservative [[Society of St. Pius X]].<ref>[https://www.saechsische.de/dresden/maximilian-der-identitaere-afd-krah-oberbuergermeister-dresden-sachsen-5693943-plus.html Maximilian der Identitäre] ''Sächsische Zeitung'', May 25, 2022</ref> He is also known for representing [[far-right]] clients and people balancing on the limits of [[free speech]], for example:
*The chairman of a local homeless aid association who publicly wished "[[death]] and nothing else" upon the head of the Dresden food bank who did not want to cooperate with them due to the [[xenophobia]] and [[PEGIDA]] ties of some members<ref>[https://www.saechsische.de/eine-entschuldigung-reicht-nicht-3572824.html Eine Entschuldigung reicht nicht] ''Sächsische Zeitung'', December 23, 2016</ref>
*AfD MdB{{efn|Member of the German Bundestag}} Jens Maier who [[Racism|racially insulted]] the son of tennis player Boris Becker<ref>[https://www.saechsische.de/jens-maier-wehrt-sich-gegen-schmerzensgeld-fuer-noah-becker-5027426.html AfD-Politiker wehrt sich gegen Schmerzensgeld für Noah Becker] ''Sächsische Zeitung'', January 24, 2019</ref>
*An ex-CDU (now AfD) local councillor and three other men who tied a mentally ill refugee with cable ties to a tree<ref>[https://www.saechsische.de/eine-emotionale-lawine-3667039.html Eine emotionale Lawine] ''Sächsische Zeitung'', April 25, 2017</ref>
*The notorious "Hutbürger",{{efn| a wordplay of "Hut" (hat) with "Wutbürger" (angry citizien, mostly used for PEGIDA)}} an off-duty cop who tried to stop reporters from filming a PEGIDA demonstration in heavy Saxonian accent, considered to be a) extremely funny<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM30gRgsW-s Pegida-Demo: Ins Gesicht gefilmt] ''extra-3'', NDR, August 24, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKAmQrZo9n0  LKA Sachsen feat. HUTBÜRGER - Ins Gesicht gefilmt: STRAFTAT (Official Music Video) #pegizei ]</ref> and b) an attack on press freedom<ref>[https://taz.de/Ein-Jahr-Hutbuerger/!5613791/ Ein Jahr Hutbürger] ''taz'', July 31, 2019</ref>
*{{wpl|Richard Williamson||,}} sectarian St. Pius X society bishop by day, [[Holocaust denier]] and antisemite by night. <ref>[https://www.domradio.de/artikel/die-piusbruderschaft-und-ihr-verhaeltnis-zu-richard-williamson Die Piusbruderschaft und ihr Verhältnis zu Richard Williamson] ''domradio.de'', July 3, 2011</ref>
*Susanne Dagen, a book seller  who got kicked out of a workshop about far-right networks hosted by a museum because she herself had ties to the [[New Right (Europe)|New Right]], which was making other participants feel uncomfortable.<ref>[https://www.dhmd.de/veranstaltungen/tagungsarchiv/tagung-die-neue-mitte/stellungnahme/ Stellungnahme: Warum die Dresdner Buchhändlerin Susanne Dagen nicht zu einem Workshop der Tagung „Die neue Mitte? Rechte Ideologien und Bewegungen in Europa“ zugelassen worden ist.] ''dhmd.de'',2. October 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.saechsische.de/dreden-prozess-dagen-rauswurf-hygienemuseum-5088431.html Urteil im Prozess um Dagens Rauswurf] ''Sächsische Zeitung'', June 28, 2016 </ref>
Krah was elected into the [[European Parliament]] in the 2019 election for the AFD. In 2022, he was suspended from the Identity and Democracy faction for half a year, because he chose to support the even crazier {{wpl|Éric Zemmour}} rather than [[Marine Le Pen]].<ref>[https://www.morgenpost.de/politik/article239060187/afd-eurpawahl-eu-spitzenkandidat-maximilian-krah-radikal.html EU-Spitzenkandidat der AfD: Wie radikal ist Maximilian Krah?] ''morgenpost.de'', July 30, 2023</ref> He put himself up to election as the mayor of Dresden in 2022, but ultimately failed with only 12% of the votes in the second round.<ref>[https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/politik/kommunalwahlen/buergermeisterwahl/ob-wahl-dresden-ergebnisse-oberbuergermeister-hilbert-100.html Kommunalwahl 2022 Dirk Hilbert gewinnt OB-Wahl in Dresden] ''mdr.de'', July 11, 2022.</ref>
Krah was chosen as the AfD's top candidate for the upcoming European election in 2024.<ref>[https://taz.de/AfD-waehlt-Krah-zum-EU-Spitzenkandidaten/!5951702/ AfD wählt Krah zum EU-Spitzenkandidaten] ''taz'', July 29, 2023 </ref>

==Positions==
{{Ctransquote|But you are the majority for whom we make politics. When I look around, it is not colorful nor diverse, that's the beauty of Freital. You're all German, Saxon, white.|German|Aber Sie sind die Mehrheit, für die wir Politik machen. Wenn ich hier in den Raum schaue, ist es nicht bunt und vielfältig, das ist das Schöne an Freital. Sie alle sind deutsch, sächsisch, weiß.|20px|20px|Krah at a rally in 2019<ref name=zeit1/>}}
Krah is considered hardline right even for the AfD.<ref>[https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/afd-rechtsextremismus-100.html AfD-Kandidat für Europawahl] ''tagesschau.de'', July 29, 2023</ref> The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, Germany's federal domestic intelligence service, classifies his statements as ethnic nationalist, islamophobic, xenophobic and directed against the constitution.<ref name=verfassungsschutz/> In one of the many [[TikTok]] videos that he posted, he called for more pride in one's ancestors, referring to the generation of grand-parents and grand-grand-parents that managed to start a [[World War 2|World War]] and [[Holocaust|murdered millions]], really not something one should be proud of. Krah denied that his grandfather was an [[NSDAP]] member, despite investigations showing that his grandfather was an avid supporter.<ref name=nzzverbrecher/><ref name=zdffbi>[https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/deutschland/maximilian-krah-afd-russland-woloschyn-fbi-eu-wahlkampf-100.html FBI befragte AfD-Mann Krah zu Russlandkontakt] ''ZDF'', April 16, 2024</ref> In his Tweets, he sometimes referred to the [[worldview]] of [[Nazi]] jurist {{wpl|Carl Schmitt||,}} even directly [[Plagiarism|plagiarizing]] him once.<ref>[https://www.volksverpetzer.de/analyse/krah-vfs/ AfDler erklärt offen, warum sie vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet werden müssen], ''volksverpetzer.de'',  Feb 1, 2019 </ref> Like other far-right [[extremist]]s, Krah appropriated the term "Umvolkung" (literally "[[Great replacement|change of the people]]") straight from the vocabulary of the original Nazis to propagate the conspiracy theory that [[Muslim]] immigrants are exploiting the tolerance of the left [[Great replacement|to colonialize Europe]].<ref name=verfassungsschutz>[https://netzpolitik.org/2019/wir-veroeffentlichen-das-verfassungsschutz-gutachten-zur-afd/#2019-01-15_BfV-AfD-Gutachten_C-I-3.1.1 Wir veröffentlichen das Verfassungsschutz-Gutachten zur AfD] ''netzpolitik.org'', January 28, 2019</ref> However, this does not keep him from trying to appeal to young voters of [[Turkish]] origin<ref name=nzzverbrecher>[https://www.nzz.ch/international/afd-spitzenkandidat-krah-deutsche-vorfahren-keine-verbrecher-ld.1755120 «Unsere Vorfahren waren keine Verbrecher»: Der AfD-Spitzenkandidat Krah will die Christlichdemokraten «zerstören» – auch mithilfe türkischstämmiger Wähler] ''nzz'', September 7, 2023</ref> and praising the [[Taliban]] for invading Kabul during [[LGBTQ|Pride month]].<ref>[https://www.fr.de/politik/afd-maximilian-krah-parteitag-europawahlen-bjoern-hoecke-magdeburg-portraet-92434879.html Lob für Taliban und Nähe zu den Identitären – das ist AfD-Mann Krah] ''Frankfurter Rundschau'', August 2, 2023</ref> Even though he is no fan of the [[European Union]], he does not want a "Dexit" like some of his fellow party members, rather wanting the far-right to try to gain power inside the system and then alter it to their will.<ref name=zeit1/> 

Krah's positions are so extreme that they even helped repel Marine Le Pen and other members of [[National Rally]] (RN) away from the entire AfD party. In May 2024, Krah defended the Waffen-SS (the main paramilitary force of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s Nazi party and a leading part of the [[Holocaust]]) in an interview, proclaiming that the SS "were not all criminals" and that many SS members were "simple farmers who didn’t have another choice". This was the last straw for many RN members&nbsp;— even they felt that these remarks trivialized the Nazi era and its numerous atrocities. As a result, the RN announced that they would no longer align with AfD in the European Parliament. Due to the fallout from this interview, Krah stepped back from his 2024 European Parliament campaign and resigned from the senior leadership team of AfD.<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/french-far-right-national-rally-splits-with-germanys-afd/a-69144718 "French far-right National Rally splits with Germany's AfD"], Deutsche Welle, 2024 May 22</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/aMFyZ "German far right in turmoil after its top candidate defends SS"] by Guy Chazan and Leila Abboud, Financial Times, 2024 May 22, archived 2024 May 22</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/le-pen-wants-clean-break-with-germanys-afd-after-nazi-ss-comments-2024-05-22/ "German AfD candidate steps aside after SS comments as EU's far right splits"], Reuters, 2024 May 22</ref>

===Friends all around the world===
[[File:Guillaume-Pradoura_Sophie-Montel.png|thumb|right|No hatred to see here, please go on.]]
Contrasting the stance of many other far-right European parties, Krah seems to think that the greatest danger to Germany stems not from the Islamic world, but rather from the "[[woke]] [[Western world|West]]", i.e. the [[USA]], joining a flourishing tradition of anti-Americanism and Russophile attitude in the German right-wing landscape.<ref>[https://www.nzz.ch/international/die-afd-streitet-ueber-aussenpolitik-raus-aus-der-eu-raus-aus-der-nato-ld.1745170 Beim Russen buckeln gehen? Die AfD streitet über ihren aussenpolitischen Kurs]''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'', 07-01-2023</ref><ref>[https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/neurechte-russland-101.html Pro-russische Netzwerke: Moskautreue Rechte]''tagesschau.de'', April 29, 2016</ref> In 2024, messages between Krah and his close friend, the pro-[[Russian]] [[Ukrainian]] politician Oleh Voloschyn, surfaced. Voloschyn assured Krah that "we settled the issue of our compensation for your technical expenditures. From May on it will be as it used to be before February." Voloshyn is sanctioned by the USA and accused of state treason by Ukraine, which made Krah the target of an [[FBI]] investigation.<ref name=zdffbi/> Krahs former assistant, Guillaume Pradoura, was a commited admirer of [[Vladimir Putin]] and organized interview partners for the right-wing online platform and Russian psyop [[Voice of Europe]]. Voice of Europe is suspected of bribing both Krah and his fellow party member Petr Byrson. Krah also gave Janusz Niedźwiecki, a suspected Russian spy, a permanent access authorisation to the European parliament.<ref>[www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100404822/afd-skandal-spitzenkandidaten-brachten-mutmasslichen-spion-des-kremls-in-bundestag.html AfD-Politiker brachten Putin-Spion in den Bundestag]''t-online.de'', May 25, 2024</ref>
 
Krah is suspiciously reluctant to vote against Chinese interest in the European Parliament, even when other party colleagues are doing otherwise,<ref>[https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/hat-china-den-afd-politiker-maximilian-krah-geschmiert-19215856.html Spitzenkandidat der AfD soll Geld aus China erhalten haben] ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', October 2, 2023</ref> and promotes stronger economic ties between China and Germany while dismissing the [[Uyghur genocide]] as anti-Chinese [[propaganda]]. This ''might'' be connected to one of his assistants, a Chinese expatriate, who was spying on Chinese opposition members and repeatedly passed on secret information from the European Parliament to China.<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/china-spying-krah-stays-on-as-afds-top-euro-candidate/a-68906465 China spying: Krah still tops AfD's EU ticket] ''Deutsche Welle'', April 24, 2024</ref> Krah also undertook several trips to China that were paid for by a state-owned company. In these trips, he established contacts to the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), according to the German domestic intelligence agency (''Verfassungsschutz''), IDCPC is a de-facto part of the Chinese secret service aiming to gather valuable political information and influence politicians abroad.<ref>[https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/DE/2023/2023-07-28-wis-hinweis-7.html Das IDCPC als Teil von Chinas Nachrichtendienstapparat] ''Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz'', July 28, 2023</ref><ref>[https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100247784/afd-maximilian-krah-das-geld-aus-china-und-die-geheimdienste.html Das China-Gate des AfD-Spitzenkandidaten] ''t-online.de'', October 1, 2023</ref>

===Antisemitism? Where?===
In 2019, a photo of  Guillaume Pradoura, assistant of the [[Marine Le Pen|Rassemblement National]] general secretary<ref name=mediapart>[https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/090116/un-colistier-de-marion-marechal-le-pen-aide-un-skinhead-en-cavale Un colistier de Marion Maréchal-Le Pen a aidé un skinhead en cavale], ''mediapart.fr'', 9 January, 2016 </ref> was published by an ex-RN member. Pradoura posed as the [[Evil Jew|classic caricature of the menacing orthodox Jew]], complete with long locks and black hat. Because of this textbook example of antisemitism, his party expelled him. Shortly after this, Krah appointed him as an assistant, apparently neither deterred by the ongoing scandal nor by Pradoura being a co-founder of the [[Identitarian|Identitarian Movement]] or his close friendship with a violent [[skinhead]] and literal [[KKK]] member.<ref name=mediapart/> When confronted with the image, Krah called it a "carnival gag", allegedly having been shot at a screening of Louis de Funes cult classic {{wpl|The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob|''The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob''|,}} and denied the underlying antisemitim.<ref>[https://www.belltower.news/europaparlament-offenbar-stellt-maximillian-krah-franzoesischen-antisemitischen-ib-mitbegruender-ein-88761/ Maximillian Krah stellt französischen antisemitischen IB-Mitbegründer ein] ''belltower.news'', July 31, 2019</ref> Soon after, Pradoura stopped working for Krah for unknown reasons.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230106150728/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197481/MAXIMILIAN_KRAH/assistants Internet Archive capture of Krah's MEP site, archived Jan 6, 2023]</ref> Nevertheless, he is still active in EU politics, now working as an assistant for the Dutch MEP Marcel de Graaff.<ref>[https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/125025/MARCEL_DE+GRAAFF/assistants Marcel de Graaff's official MEP site] retrieved January 1, 2024</ref> 

Krah also has claimed that [[George Soros]] wants to destroy humanity.<ref>[https://www.berliner-kurier.de/politik-wirtschaft/afd-parteitag-die-rechten-schicken-ihre-rechten-nach-bruessel-li.374387 AfD-Parteitag: Die Rechten schicken ihre Rechten nach Brüssel]''Berliner Kurier'', August 30, 2023</ref>

==Notes==
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==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Krah, Maximilian}}
[[Category:Alt-right]]
[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:European politicians]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
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[[Category:German politics]]
[[Category:Great Replacement conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Plagiarists]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Vatniks]]

Categories: Alt-right, Antisemites, European politicians, Fascists, Germany, German politics, Great Replacement conspiracy theorists, Lawyers, Living people, Plagiarists, Racists, Vatniks