By Carolyn Yeager: Andreas Kalbitz since 2017 was a member of the AfD federal executive board. On February 13 it was announced that he - along with Björn Höcke and Hans-Thomas Tillschneider - had been under surveillance by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution since the beginning of the year.GERMANY'S AfD PARTY VOTED TO EXPEL THEIR BRANDENBURG STATE LEADER Friday over his past connections with an alleged “neo-nazi” youth movement, despite Andreas Kalbitz' denial that he was ever a member. The vote was close: 7-5 with one abstention.
The current co-leaders of the AfD are Joerg Meuthen and Tino Chrupalla. Other top national leaders include Beatrix von Storch, Alice Weidel, Alexander Gauland and Stephan Brandner. Gauland, age 79, retired from the leadership position last year, but is still Federal Parliamentary Leader along with Weidel.
Kalbitz, 47, is a close ally to Bjoern Hoecke, AfD state leader in Thuringia. Both are considered influential figures in the party and credited with building the greater popularity the AfD enjoys in the eastern part of Germany. They are associated with a more revisionist interpretation of Germany's war-time history; in 2007 (13 years ago) Kalbitz was photographed at an event hosted by the HDJ (Heimattreuen Deutschen Jugend), an alleged neo-Nazi youth movement that has since been banned.
The current co-leaders of the AfD are Joerg Meuthen and Tino Chrupalla. Other top national leaders include Beatrix von Storch, Alice Weidel, Alexander Gauland and Stephan Brandner. Gauland, age 79, retired from the leadership position last year, but is still Federal Parliamentary Leader along with Weidel.
Kalbitz, 47, is a close ally to Bjoern Hoecke, AfD state leader in Thuringia. Both are considered influential figures in the party and credited with building the greater popularity the AfD enjoys in the eastern part of Germany. They are associated with a more revisionist interpretation of Germany's war-time history; in 2007 (13 years ago) Kalbitz was photographed at an event hosted by the HDJ (Heimattreuen Deutschen Jugend), an alleged neo-Nazi youth movement that has since been banned.