The trial of Brandenburg AfD member of parliament Wilko Möller began this week at the Frankfurt (Oder) regional court. Möller stands accused of approving an election poster that prosecutors claim depicts a prohibited Nazi symbol—an alleged Hitler salute.
The controversy centres on a campaign image used during the Brandenburg state election bearing the slogan “We protect your children.” The poster shows parents forming a protective roof over their children with their arms. Prosecutors argue that because the father’s right arm is raised, the image constitutes a Hitler salute. Möller is accused of knowingly approving the poster despite the ban on Nazi symbols.
The charges stem from a complaint filed by a Die Linke (Left Party) official. Notably, the graphic designer who mirrored the original stock photo is also charged—yet prosecutors concede that had the image not been mirrored, the woman in the poster could just as easily have been accused of making the gesture.
Möller has dismissed the case as a “purely political matter.”
Adding to accusations of selective enforcement, a nearly identical campaign motif was used by the CDU in 2021, featuring a father raising his arm over children—without triggering any legal consequences.
The case echoes another controversial ruling from the summer of 2025, when a German woman was fined €1,800 for sharing a photo of former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach with his arm raised during a public speech. Despite the image being an unaltered still from a public appearance, a court deemed it to resemble a Nazi salute under Germany’s strict laws.
