Thousands Protest Far-Right Surge in Thuringia

More than 4,000 protesters gathered in Erfurt to voice their concern with the rise of the far right's popularity in the German federal state of Thuringia.

With state elections in the Eastern German state of Thuringia one week away, protesters in Thuringia's capital, Erfurt, fear a landslide victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) who is leading in the polls.

Many of the protest signs and protesters referenced the head of Thuringia's AfD, Bjoern Hoecke.

Hoecke has in the past been convicted for his use of Nazi phrases among other controversial statements.

Recent polls show his party ahead in the polls.

Thuringia is traditionally a stronghold of the far-right AfD party, which polls suggest could become the second strongest in the central federal state's parliament.

The central German state is traditionally a stronghold of the far-right party Alternative for Germany, which polls suggest could become the second strongest in the regional parliament.

Buchenwald, located near the Thuringian city of Weimar, was a Nazi German labor death camp during World War II.

Around 56,000 prisoners — about one-quarter of the camp's total inmates — were systematically murdered there from 1937 until its liberation by the Allied forces in 1945, most of them members of the Jewish community.

The conservative party Christian Democratic Union, a part of the national ruling coalition with the center-left SPD and the Greens, is 2% behind the AfD, a recent poll showed.

Saxony and Brandenburg are also due to hold state elections on 1 and 22 September, respectively.

The two account for 10% of Germany’s population. However, their election results, together with Thuringia, are expected to have a major influence on national politics.