The incident occurred at the memorial in Berlin’s Bendlerblock, where the failed assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 is commemorated each year. Korenke grabbed the AfD faction’s wreath and damaged it, whereupon security forces intervened and separated the situation.
Korenke explained his action to the German Press Agency, saying he was outraged: “Many descendants, and I include myself, feel a great anger when we see the AfD laying wreaths here.” A spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group confirmed that the faction had provided the wreath. He left open whether any lawmakers were present. Götz Frömming, head of the faction’s history working group, pointed out that the AfD, as a party represented in the Bundestag, is invited to the official commemorations.
The main speech was given by Federal Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU). She spoke as a descendant of victims of the Shoah and called for civic responsibility. “The history of the resistance shows us: people are not born heroes; they learn to take responsibility long before freedom and human dignity are at stake,” the CDU politician said. In the afternoon, a solemn oath-taking by 240 recruits of the Bundeswehr was planned at the Bendlerblock.
Source: www.zdfheute.de
AfD and Fantasies of Violence: A Commentary on July 20