Elon Musk made a surprise videolink appearance at a campaign event for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Saturday, during which he told a crowd of around 4,500 AfD supporters that "children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents," in an apparent reference to the Nazi Germany just two days before Holocaust Remembrance Day. The AfD, which Musk had previously voiced his support for, has been labelled a suspected extremist organization by Germany's national security services.

"There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that," Musk said, adding that he considered the anti-immigration, anti-cultural integration party, "the best hope for Germany."

"It's good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything," said Musk, who has become a close ally and adviser to President Trump.

Remarks come days after Musk's "awkward gesture"
He gave the remarks just days after police in Germany said they were investigating the projection of large-scale images of Musk making a gesture reminiscent of the Nazi salute onto a Tesla factory outside Berlin. Musk made the gesture twice at an inauguration event for President Trump at the beginning of last week.

A U.K. campaign group and a German satirical group have taken responsibility for the projections.

Any display of Nazi symbols is against federal law in Germany. Musk has not directly denied giving a Nazi salute, but he mocked criticism of the gestures in a post on X, saying: "Frankly they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Musk, calling him a friend of the Jewish people and dismissing the criticism, saying the tech magnate had been "falsely smeared."

In the U.S., the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitism, called Musk's actions an "awkward gesture," but said it was "not a Nazi salute."

In 2023, Musk threatened to sue the ADL for defamation after the organization alleged his X platform was enabling the spread of antisemitism.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, speaking a day before his nation welcomed survivors and foreign dignitaries for a memorial service to commemorate 80 years since the liberation of the notorious Auschwitz Nazi death camp, condemned Musk's weekend remarks to the AfD gathering.

"The words we heard from the main actors of the AfD rally about 'Great Germany' and 'the need to forget German guilt for Nazi crimes' sounded all too familiar and ominous," Tusk said Sunday on social media. "Especially only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz."

On Monday, as people gathered for the solemn memorial service at Auschwitz, Tusk said in a new post that "the whole world should hear once more those words: NEVER AGAIN! We must not forget the tragic lesson of our past. Evil, violence and contempt cannot triumph anew. Under any circumstances!"

German government says Musk helping as far-right AfD gains support
Germany is expected to hold a snap election in February, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence and his ruling coalition collapsed. The AfD, which recently became the first far-right party to win a state election since the Nazi era, has seen a surge in support.

After Musk's remarks on Saturday, the leader of the AfD, Alice Weidel, thanked him and told the crowd: "Let's make Germany great again."

Late last year, the German government accused Musk of trying to influence the country's February elections when he published an op-ed in a local newspaper endorsing the AfD.

"It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election," a government spokesperson said on social media at the time, though the spokesperson said Musk was free to express his views, adding: "After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense."

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