Far-right German politician investigated for selling Nazi-era memorabilia 

Rudolf Mueller, a leading member of the Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, is under investigation for suspicions that he sold Nazi memorabilia.

Rudolf Mueller, the party’s top candidate for elections in the western state of Saarland next year, allegedly sold Nazi medals and currency used in a concentration camp at his antiques store, German authorities said Thursday.

Saarbruecken prosecutors said they are probing whether Mueller broke a law banning the use of Nazi symbols, a breach of Germany’s constitution. Such symbols include the Nazi swastika, which was often found on German World War II medals. There are exceptions allowing for artistic and educational use to document the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes.

Mueller told a local newspaper he didn’t believe he broke the law.

AfD has faced several allegations of anti-Semitism and far-right links among its members and supporters since it was founded three years ago.

The party has gained significant political power in recent local elections and has members in ten of Germany’s 16 state parliaments.

Most recently, it received 14.2 percent of the vote Sunday in the election for Berlin’s state assembly.

Following that vote, AfD’s co-chairwoman Frauke Petry rejected reporters’ questions about anti-Semitism in the party as “outrageous” and “insinuations.”

The party announced two days later that one of its elected members, Kay Nerstheimer, had relinquished his seat in the AfD following revelations that he had previously been a member of the far-right German Defense League.

By: World Israel News Staff
AP contributed to this report.