Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel poses under the famous gate with her Jewish entourage: WJC's Ronald Lauder to her right, the Jewish Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki to her left, and museum director and guide Piotr Cywinski at far left of photo. The white head of Josef Schuster, leader of Germany's Council of Jews peeks over Merkel's left shoulder.

By Carolyn Yeager

IN THE MIDST OF POLITICAL DIFFICULTIES FOR HER PARTY and for her government partnership with the SPD (which just elected new leaders who show little interest in continuing their participation with Merkel's CDU), the German chancellor found time for a seemingly surprise first visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum in Poland.

She is only the third chancellor to ever visit Auschwitz—the previous two being Helmut Schmidt in 1977 and Helmut Kohl in 1989. This past September, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) spoke in Warsaw and condemned pre-1945 Germany for “putting its interests ahead of Europe's” as a whole, saying “Germans must oppose nationalism” and that Germans should not feel they are the “better Europeans.” Steinmeier attacked his own country for what Poland is increasingly pursuing for itself: a more nationalist (Poland First) path. Go figure.

CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL HAS ANNOUNCED GUIDELINES FOR DEALING WITH PARTIES that allegedly engage in disinformation in election campaigns, which would bring financial sanctions into play.

AfD national spokesman Alexander Gauland  (right) said in Berlin on Oct. 18:

"If it is up to the Chancellor, opposition parties will soon have to submit their campaign material to the government for consideration. Presumably, a 'Ministry of Truth' will be set up for this purpose. That is not an absurd statement.”

He added, “Merkel's announcement shows how tense the nerves of the old parties are in the face of their continuing decline. Apparently, the current popular parties no longer trust their own arguments, but see in them their last chance to discredit the political opponent.

AfD co-chair Jörg Meuthen, left, and candidate Georg Pazderski celebrate the election results which came in as well as they could have hoped.

UPDATE: Final results:  AfD party - 14.2%!  The Social Democrats (SPD) - 21.6. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) -17.6. The Left party 15.6.  Green Party - 15.2. Free Democrats (FDP) - 6.7. Pirate Party - 1.7. CONGRATULATIONS AFD!

[UPDATED] THE ALTERNATIVE FOR GERMANY PARTY (AfD) POLLED AT 14.2 percent it's first time on the ballot in Berlin, giving it about 25 seats in the regional assembly. This is considered a big victory for the anti-immigrant party in “multi-cultural Berlin … a city of millions that is known for its open lifestyle,” as written in the Frankfurter Allegemeine Sunday paper.

The long-ruling Social Democrats (SPD) won the most seats by polling at 21.6 percent, losing 6.7 points from the last election in 2011. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) came in second at 17.6 percent, down 5.7 from 2011. The Left (Communist) party gained 3.9 and the Green Party lost 2.4 since 5 years ago. 

The AfD billboard in the background reads "So that Germany is not destroyed."

Alternative für Deutschland party representatives entered Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's 71-seat Schwerin assembly Sunday for the first time according to exit poll results. Coming in at 21% puts them in 2nd place after the Social Democratic Party.

Incumbent Premier Erwin Sellering, a Social Democrat who has governed in coalition with the regional CDU for the past 10 years, was returned with 30 percent, according to initial results.

This puts Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party in third place with  19%.