After visiting a former concentration camp in Europe and condemning the horrors of the Holocaust, Vice President Vance was accused by German authorities of supporting Nazism for meeting with the leader of the right-wing AfD party.
While Germany technically upholds freedom of speech, it is far more restrictive than in the United States.
Holocaust denial and Nazi symbols are explicitly prohibited—denying the Holocaust, glorifying Nazism, or using Nazi symbols is a criminal offense.
However, the term “glorifying” Nazism is problematic, as the law does not clearly define what constitutes glorification.
Similarly, Germany enforces censorship of extremism, but “extremism” is also left undefined, meaning that any group or activity deemed extremist by the government can be censored.
Under German law, groups deemed a threat to democracy, such as far-right or Islamist organizations, may have their speech restricted.
Organizations that oppose the “free democratic basic order” (freiheitliche demokratische Grundordnung) can be banned, which has included neo-Nazi groups and some Islamist organizations.