A German politician with royal roots and a controversial family history in Nazi Germany

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Beatrix von Storch is a prominent figure in the Alternative for Germany party, known for her conservative stances and aristocratic lineage. Her family history includes a grandfather who served as a finance minister in the Third Reich, a background that has frequently intersected with her own contentious political career.

Born in 1971, Beatrix von Storch belongs to the House of Oldenburg, a royal dynasty that ruled the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg until 1918. Her ancestry connects her to several European royal houses, including those of Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Despite this noble heritage, her family history is marked by the actions of her maternal grandfather, Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk. He served as finance minister throughout the Nazi regime and briefly acted as the head of the Flensburg Government following the deaths of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels in 1945. He was later convicted for crimes committed during the Nazi era.

Von Storch transitioned from a career in banking and law to politics, becoming a founding member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in 2013. She has served as a Member of the European Parliament and, since 2017, as a member of the Bundestag. Within the AfD, she is associated with the conservative wing and has been vocal on issues such as opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion, while also advocating for the return of land nationalized in the former East Germany.

Her political life has been marked by significant legal and public controversies. In 2015, she unsuccessfully sought a court injunction against a Berlin theatre that parodied her and her grandfather's history in a play. She has also faced public backlash for her comments on border control, specifically her assertion that personnel had the right to use deadly force against illegal immigrants. Additionally, her social media presence has drawn scrutiny, including a temporary Twitter block following remarks directed at the Cologne Police Department regarding their use of Arabic in official communications.

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