Bjoern Hoecke, chief of AfD in Thuringia state, accused of saying 'Everything for Germany,' Nazi paramilitary group's motto, during campaign speech in 2021

Christian Hirte of German leader's CDU had congratulated new state governor, elected with help of AfD, leading to calls for his removal by her coalition partners

A day after taking office, Thuringia PM Thomas Kemmerich laments his election win with votes of Alternative for Germany party, calls new elections amid nationwide outrage

Munich community leader, a Holocaust survivor, says booming support for AfD shows political system 'has gone off the rails'

Party candidate Bjoern Hoecke, an extremist who called Berlin Holocaust memorial a 'monument of shame,' comes second to far-left Ramelow, beats Merkel's party

Hardliner Bjoern Hoecke running neck and neck with CDU candidate in Thuringia vote, seen as key test of mood in east German heartland following Yom Kippur assault

Polls suggest AfD support has slipped in the wake of the Halle attack, which has fueled concern over growing right-wing threats

Andreas Kalbitz, AfD candidate in state of Brandenburg, insists his biography is not extremist, but critics say the facts show otherwise