Police in Munich are investigating a death threat against Charlotte Knobloch, a Jewish community leader and Holocaust survivor, which references recent electoral gains by the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) Party. A woman reported the threat, which was scrawled on a park bench on Thursday, to the police, according to the German news agency dpa. Knobloch, who has previously called for a ban on the AfD, canceled her attendance at a book launch scheduled for Thursday, located about 2 miles from where the threat was found.
The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in the state election of Saxony-Anhalt last week, securing 39 seats in the local parliament and narrowly missing the ability to form a majority government without a coalition partner. German media did not disclose the exact content of the death threat, but reports indicate it referenced Knobloch, the AfD, and included a Star of David.
Stephan Protschka, state chairman of the AfD’s Bavaria chapter, condemned the death threat in response to a query from JNS, stating, "I condemn the death threat against Charlotte Knobloch unequivocally and without reservation. Political disagreements or election results can never justify threats, intimidation, or violence against a person. This applies, of course, especially if such a threat is motivated by antisemitism." He emphasized the importance of allowing the relevant authorities to investigate the incident before drawing further conclusions.
Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, also condemned the threat in a post on X, suggesting that the AfD contributes to the challenges faced by German Jews amid rising antisemitic violence. He stated, "That a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor must witness Jews being beaten on the street, boycotted at universities and in the cultural sector, and the AfD growing stronger with its dangerous ideology, must be unbearable for her and for every Jew in Germany."
Ludwig Spaenle, the Bavarian State Government Commissioner for Jewish Life and Against Antisemitism, described the death threat as having "crossed every line of decency." He expressed hope that the perpetrators would be quickly identified and brought to justice.
Knobloch previously criticized the AfD in a speech during a Holocaust commemoration at the Bavarian State Parliament in 2019, which garnered significant media attention for its political content. She stated, "The so-called Alternative for Germany bases its policy on hatred and exclusion."
The AfD advocates for limiting immigration to Germany and has had supporters and leaders who have downplayed the Holocaust. Knobloch is recognized for her role in revitalizing the Jewish community in Munich, where she was born. She led the establishment of a $51 million Jewish community center and synagogue in 2006, following efforts to integrate thousands of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
In 1942, at the age of 10, Knobloch's father arranged for her to go into hiding with a Catholic family to escape Nazi persecution. After the war, she and her father returned to Munich, where the Jewish population had drastically declined from 10,000 in 1933.