Hape Kerkeling Urges SPD to Combat Extremism and Intolerance

Entertainer and author Hape Kerkeling addressed the SPD parliamentary group during a closed door retreat in Berlin, where he warned against the capitulation of facts to volume. Kerkeling urged the lawmakers to decisively oppose intolerance and extremism, arguing that giving equal platform to crude claims and constitutional enemies in the name of fairness or freedom of speech undermines the stability of democracy. He specifically referenced a 2018 comment by AfD politician Alexander Gauland, who described the twelve years of National Socialism as a bird dropping in over one thousand years of German history.

Kerkeling invoked the example of former SPD leader Otto Wels, who stood alone in 1933 to oppose the Nazi Enabling Act. He told the deputies that while silence would have been more convenient, Wels chose to speak, providing a model for current political courage. This address follows a speech Kerkeling gave in April marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he warned against the convenience of looking away when democracy is under attack.

Both reports from center left outlets highlight Kerkeling's role as a cultural figure challenging the rise of the far right. One report emphasizes the emotional atmosphere of the event, noting the enthusiastic reception from the SPD members and Kerkeling's personal history with the Reichstag building, while the other focuses more heavily on the specific political warnings and historical parallels used in his speech.