What happens when Germany’s far right grows from the fringes into the mainstream and finds champions on the world stage?

In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, host Raney Aronson-Rath speaks with longtime FRONTLINE correspondent Evan Williams, director of The Rise of Germany’s New Right. Together, they unpack how the hardline Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has surged in popularity, drawing young voters on TikTok, capitalizing on economic anxiety, and reframing nationalism for a new generation.

Williams explains how Germany’s past is colliding with its present, as the country confronts a movement that challenges its postwar democratic identity. “Germany has gone through a process of changing from democracy to dictatorship, where the democratic institutions were undermined and eroded from within the democratic system,” he says of the country’s Nazi era. “And it’s since set up a process which has tried to protect itself against that happening again.”

The conversation explores how that process is now under fire, and also examines the roles of global influencers like Elon Musk and JD Vance, whose public endorsements have emboldened the AfD.

“They feel like they’re on the brink of power,” says Williams.

You can watch The Rise of Germany’s New Right on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, and the PBS App. Want to be notified every time a new podcast episode drops? Sign up for The FRONTLINE Dispatch newsletter.