Overview
- Marco Walczak replied to a Linke Niedersachsen post on Bürgergeld with the words "Arbeit macht frei," then deleted the comment and apologized, calling it a serious mistake.
- He resigned as chairman of the CDU branch in Meckelfeld/Klein-Moor in Seevetal but remains on the municipal council and the Harburg district council.
- CDU Niedersachsen condemned the remark as incompatible with party values, and the Harburg Land district association issued a reprimand barring him from further online statements with additional sanctions possible.
- Walczak said he wrote the phrase without knowing its historical meaning and will decide next week whether to keep his elected mandates.
- Linke state leader Thorben Peters demanded stronger consequences, while Walczak cited recent online hostility tied to a village festival that allowed an AfD information stand.