Carnival celebrations in Germany’s Rhineland region are characterized by five things: Music, costumes, flowers, candy, and giant, handcrafted floats, many of which function as life-size political cartoons. On all fronts, this year’s festivities — concentrated in the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz — did not disappoint.
One of the most eye-catching floats in February featured caricatures of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin crushing Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the text “Hitler-Stalin Pakt 2.0” written on their arms: a reference to the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939, which paved the way for their partitioning of invaded Poland. Elsewhere, the US president was seen riding a carriage pulled by the Statue of Liberty, chained up and forced onto her knees.
Elon Musk — another prominent figure currently on German minds due to his support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) — was also featured. One float depicted him in a diaper bearing the party’s logo as well as a bicorne hat labeled “NAPO-ELON,” and another showed him and AfD leader, Alice Weidel, seated on a seesaw made of arms locked in perpetual Hitler salutes, Weidel raised high by Elon’s weight. Weidel also appeared in a float that turned her into the witch from “Hansel and Gretel,” handing swastika-shaped treats to unsuspecting children in shirts identifying them as “Erstwählers” or first-time voters.
While Carnival celebrations have long been used as a platform to ridicule powerful individuals, show solidarity with marginalized groups, and raise awareness for important issues like immigration and climate change, the holiday’s general atmosphere has become increasingly political in recent years, its brazen messaging reflecting the polarized…
Auteur: Tim Brinkhof
