---
title: "Germany warns extremists are whitewashing east German dictatorship"
url: https://moldova1.md/p/83114/germany-warns-extremists-are-whitewashing-east-german-dictatorship
published: 2026-08-14T05:20:00Z
language: en
author: "Liubomir Guțu"
section: "International"
source: moldova1.md
---

# Germany warns extremists are whitewashing east German dictatorship

> German officials have issued a sharp warning against growing attempts by political extremists to downplay the atrocities of the former East German communist regime.

![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/20e880c2-a131-41d1-a1a9-37c8b928f33e.jpg)

German officials have issued a sharp warning against growing attempts by political extremists to downplay the atrocities of the former East German communist regime.

Speaking on Thursday, August 13, during a ceremony marking 65 years since the construction of the Berlin Wall, Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer denounced the manipulation of historical memory amid rising nostalgia in the country's eastern states.

**Political exploitation ahead of elections**

*"Far-left and far-right extremists are currently trying to deliberately minimize the atrocities committed by the GDR,"* Weimer warned.

He highlighted that the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) regime was a brutal dictatorship defined by state surveillance, torture facilities, and border firing squads along the wall.

Evelyn Zupke, the Federal Commissioner for the Victims of the Communist Dictatorship, supported the statement, warning against a trend of romanticizing the past and whitewashing historical realities as time passes.

**Extremist tactics in East Germany**

Dieter Dombrowski, president of the Union of Associations of Victims of Communist Dictatorship, pointed to escalating pressure on democratic norms ahead of crucial regional votes.

He cited a recent campaign rally by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt, where the former East German national anthem was played.

AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund has openly leveraged East German nostalgia during his campaign, utilizing era symbols such as iconic Simson motorcycles. Polls show the AfD leading conservative opponents by nearly 20 percentage points in the state.

Crucial regional elections are scheduled for September 6 in Saxony-Anhalt, followed by votes in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on September 20.

Erected on August 13, 1961, the Berlin Wall divided communist East Germany from West Germany for 28 years until its fall on November 9, 1989, paving the way for German reunification on October 3, 1990.

Translation by **Iurie Tataru**