AfD politician Tillschneider blocked from Halle synagogue memorial by human chain
Activists linked arms at the synagogue entrance in Halle on Friday, and the AfD politician left after a lengthy discussion while police mediated. The incident came on the seventh anniversary of the 2019 attack that killed two people.
Human chain at the Halle synagogue
Activists from the Jüdische Studierendenunion (JSUD) linked arms in front of the synagogue entrance in Halle shortly before a memorial event began at midday on Friday. A police spokesman in Halle confirmed that Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, an AfD member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, wanted to enter the synagogue grounds just before the event began. Some outlets give his first name as Hans-Joachim. Video of the scene shows JSUD president Ron Dekel confronting him.
Dekel told Tillschneider directly:
You are not welcome here.
Tillschneider asked "Who are you, then?" After Dekel introduced himself, he said:
We will not let our remembrance be hijacked. We will not let right-wing extremists into our synagogue again.
After a lengthy discussion, Tillschneider eventually gave up and left the site.
Police account
The police described the gathering as a spontaneous assembly. Officials from the assembly authority mediated between Tillschneider and the demonstrators, and the situation remained calm. Several bystanders formed the chain at the entrance to the synagogue grounds, which kept the politician from taking part in the event.
Reactions from the Jewish community
Even Tillschneider's appearance at the memorial was widely seen as an affront. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the Jüdische Allgemeine:
It was and is the wish of the Jewish community in Halle to dedicate this day of remembrance to the victims of the dreadful attack of 9 October 2019 and to allow no political instrumentalization whatsoever.
Schuster said that by attempting to attend, Tillschneider had "trampled" that wish underfoot. JSUD spokesperson Noami Tamir also addressed the Jüdische Allgemeine:
A confirmed right-wing extremist party chairman has no place at our remembrance. We will not let this remembrance be appropriated. It is first and foremost about the victims.
The 2019 attack and the trial
On 9 October 2019, Yom Kippur, a right-wing extremist tried to force his way into the Halle synagogue and streamed the attack live online. He fired homemade weapons at the wooden entrance door, then stopped and shot a passer-by, Jana, and then a 20-year-old, Kevin S., at a nearby kebab shop. He wounded several more people while fleeing before police arrested him. Parts of the AfD at the time spoke of a "mentally confused lone perpetrator" and denied any political motive.
- Gunman tries to storm the Halle synagogue on Yom Kippur, then shoots a passer-by and a 20-year-old at a nearby kebab shop
- Naumburg Higher Regional Court sentences the attacker to life imprisonment with preventive detention
- Tillschneider is elected vice president of the new Saxony-Anhalt state parliament
- Human chain blocks Tillschneider from entering the synagogue grounds during the memorial
The Naumburg Higher Regional Court sentenced him in 2020 to life imprisonment followed by preventive detention.
Vote and political context
Tillschneider was elected vice president of the new state parliament in Magdeburg on Tuesday, 6 October. The AfD won the state election in September, although Saxony-Anhalt classifies the party as right-wing extremist. Tobias Rausch was elected as the first AfD politician to serve as state parliament president. Acting Minister President Sven Schulze and his predecessor Reiner Haseloff, both CDU, were due to take part in the commemorations in Halle, with several events held in the city today.
