Jürgen Elsässer

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Jürgen Elsässer
Elsässer in 2015 at a PEGIDA gathering
Born (1957-01-20) 20 January 1957
Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
OccupationsJournalist, political activist

Jürgen Elsässer (born 20 January 1957) is a German journalist and far-right political activist. Once active in left-wing circles, he later became a prominent figure in Germany's far-right scene. He is the founder of Compact, a magazine classified as extremist by the BfV in 2021 and banned by the BMI in 2024, though the ban was later overturned, with a final decision pending.[1]

Life

Jürgen Elsässer was born in Pforzheim in 1957, the son of a watchmaker and a secretary. He described himself and his two sisters in their youth as typical admirers of left-wing values, influenced by the 1968 protest movement a few years earlier. His father, in contrast, was a conservative CDU voter.[2]

In order to secure a teaching position, Elsässer pledged support for the Liberal democratic basic order, a prerequisite for employment in the German public sector aimed at preventing political extremists from holding state-funded jobs. At the time, he was still active in communist organizations.[2] He worked as a teacher in a vocational school in Baden-Württemberg for 14 years before beginning his career as journalist for left-wing magazines in 1994. Elsässer published his early works in Arbeiterkampf (Workers' Struggle), a newspaper published by the Kommunistischer Bund (Communist League), an organization he was involved with for several years.[3] In 1990, he was a sharp critic of German reunification, fearing it might lead to the rise of a Viertes Reich (Fourth Reich).

In 2010, he founded Compact magazine,[4] where he continues to serve as editor-in-chief.

In 2011, Elsässer expressed his admiration for Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević.[2] During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, Elsässer was an outspoken supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin and received much criticism from the German media for his position.[5] He was a sharp critic of the migration policy of the former German chancellor Angela Merkel.[6][2]

Since 2016, Elsässer has positioned Compact magazine as a political campaign platform for the far-right AfD.[7] He aims to expand its reach through a Querfront strategy, seeking to unite far-left and far-right groups under nationalist themes.[8]

Ideological Development

Elsässer was one of the political creators of the Anti-Germans movement.

From about 1975 to 2008, Elsässer was an author, editor and co-publisher of various left-wing print media such as “Jungle World”, “junge Welt”, “konkret” and “Neues Deutschland”.[8] In 1994, he was editor of the leftist Junge Welt (Young World). He was also co-editor of the largest left-wing monthly magazine konkret until he was dismissed.

Starting in 2010, Elsässer publicly aligned himself with the far-right movement. Since then, he has promoted positions that are conspiracy-driven, anti-American, pro-Russian, homophobic, and racist. Some of his statements have been classified as anti-Semitic.[8]

Reception

Melanie Amann of Der Spiegel described Elsässer's presence as "a mixture of evangelical preacher and teleshopping moderator", noting his style would "work independently of his message."[2] In a 2018 interview with Der Spiegel, Dietmar Koschmieder (editor in chief of Junge Welt) remarked: "If you ask me, [Elsässer] has no convictions at all... He is an expert at emotional manipulation, adapting his message to suit his target audience."[2]

Publications

  • 2010: Der Euro-Crash. Griechenland war nur der Anfang (The Euro crash. Greece was just the beginning). Hoemlius Verlag ISBN 9783897064225
  • 2009: Angriff der Heuschrecken. Zerstörung der Nationen und globaler Krieg. (Attack of the locusts. Destruction of nations and global war). Pahl-Rugenstein Nachfolger ISBN 9783891443965
  • 1998: Braunbuch DVU. Eine deutsche Arbeiterpartei und ihre Freunde. Vorw. v. Jürgen Trittin (Brownbook DVU. A German workers party and their friends. Preface: Jürgen Trittin). Konkret Literatur Verlag ISBN 9783930786183

References

  1. NDR, Katja Riedel, WDR, Alexandra Bauer und Sebastian Pittelkow. "Compact-Magazin: Muss der Staat seine Feinde schützen?". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 1 June 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Amann, Melanie (13 January 2018). "Jürgen Elsässer, der Chefideologe der Neuen Rechten". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. Brodkorb, Mathias (25 April 2011). "Jürgen Elsässer und sein Magazin "Compact" - Der Gottfried Feder des 21. Jahrhunderts?" [Jürgen Elsässer and his magazine "Compact" - The Gottfried Feder of the 21st century?]. Endstation Rechts (in German). Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  4. "Magazin für Souveränität" [Magazine for Sovereignty] (in German). Compact-magazin.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  5. Korn, Thomas; Umland, Andreas (19 July 2014). "Jürgen Elsässer, Kremlpropagandist" [Jürgen Elsässer, Kremlin propagandist]. ZEIT ONLINE (in German). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  6. Elsässer, Jürgen (13 September 2015). "Aufruf an unsere Soldaten: Sichert die deutschen Grenzen!" [Call to Our Soldiers: Secure the borders of Germany!] (in German). Juergenelsaesser.wordpress.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. Pütz, Peter (31 October 2016). "Reducing prejudice and discrimination towards refugees in Germany – Testing the effect of direct contact through joint dinners". AEA Randomized Controlled Trials. doi:10.1257/rct.1754. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  8. "Schwerpunkt Jürgen Elsässer". taz.de (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2025.