FILE - In this March 16, 2016 file photo Bjoern Hoecke, chairman of the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) in the German state of Thuringia, leads the rally in Erfurt, central Germany. Hoecke plans to attend a memorial ceremony in the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp on Holocaust Rememberance Day on Jan. 27, 2017 despite being to welcomed there. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, file)
The Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) - A Nazi concentration camp memorial has rescinded its invitation to a prominent member of a German nationalist party to attend Holocaust Remembrance Day services.
The Buchenwald Memorial's move came after Bjoern Hoecke, Alternative for Germany's leader in the state of Thuringia, made comments suggesting ending the country's tradition of acknowledging and atoning for its Nazi past.
Rikola-Gunnar Luettgenau, deputy director of the Buchenwald Memorial, told the dpa news agency Thursday that it would be "not acceptable" for Hoecke to participate in Friday's ceremony with other Thuringia lawmakers.
Last week, Hoecke called Berlin's Holocaust memorial a "monument of shame" and said Germany should take a "positive" attitude toward its history.
MDR news reports Hoecke still plans to attend the ceremony, telling the memorial "it is not up to you to decide."
FILE - In this April 10, 2015 file photo visitors stand in front of the gate of the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald with the inscription 'Jedem das Seine' (To each his own) at the eve of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp near Weimar, eastern Germany. The Buchenwald Memorial has rescinded its invitation to a prominent member of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party to participate in its Holocaust Remembrance Day services, following his comments suggesting ending the country's tradition of acknowledging and atoning for its Nazi past. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press