Volk and Family: National Socialist Legacies and Gender Concepts in the Rhetoric of the Alternative for Germany

Abstract

The article analyses how the Alternative for Germany (AfD) conflated images of the traditional family with the nation and a racially-defined notion of ‘ Volk’, consciously repackaging terms from the 1930s for current political use. Taking a comparative and historical perspective, the article situates the family rhetoric and policies of the AfD in the historical debates on family, reproduction, and women that characterized Germany from the post-war period to the early 21st century. Exploring how the AfD sought to portray and regulate women's roles and reproductive decision-making, the article argues that the party sought to produce an authentic take on family and gender politics, the racism of which went practically unchallenged. It presents four analytical dimensions to grasp the specific biologist family-centrism and anti-gender approach of the AfD in comparison to National Socialism family rhetoric and policies. Sources come from official party platforms, less formal speeches and social media content of party representatives, newspaper coverage and reports by the German Intelligence Service, Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz .