As Martin Kohler drove toward the Berlin neighborhood of Neukölln, he gave a warning of what the man sitting next to him was about to witness. “Germany is changing really fast,” he said. The passenger, Wesley Winter, nodded at Kohler’s words, listening with rapt attention while training his video camera on Kohler.
Soon after the duo stepped out onto Sonnenallee, Neukölln’s main drag, Winter could not contain his shock from the camera. “It’s almost like a parallel universe,” he breathed, as he pointed his camera at a barbershop with Turkish advertisements and a Palestinian flag swaying from a window above. Along the street, kebab shops sizzled, sending the aroma of roasting meat drifting through the cold winter air. Shoppers browsed clothing outlets that advertised headscarves and grocery stores that boasted halal meat.
Letting loose a grim laugh, Kohler surveyed the scene. His conclusion was blunt: “No integration.”
Walking past local food stores and community centers, Kohler spoke about how immigrant-populated neighborhoods like the one in Neukölln were cropping up across the city. “First,” he said, “it’s one kebab shop. And then on the opposite side there opens a shisha bar, [then] a shop for halal meat. And even more, you have a street where Muslims are feeling quite well. And then more are coming.” Winter, an up-and-coming right-wing YouTuber from England, asked him in a concerned tone whether the average German wanted this expansion in a city like Berlin. Without missing a beat, Kohler replied, “No. Absolutely not. That’s why so many Germans [are] leaving Berlin.”
The video that Winter published from his tour with Kohler, titled “Germany is Out of Control,” garnered more than 270,000 views. In it, Kohler, a rising voice in Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, could share his message with the world. Berlin, he conveyed, was under attack from a hostile population of Muslim migrants that preferred reproducing their own culture in Germany to assimilating into the existing society. This narrative, which Kohler’s party has been pushing nationwide to justify its hardline stance on immigration, catapulted AfD forward to become one of the largest and most energetic political movements in the country. Winning over 20 percent of the vote share in the 2025 federal elections, the AfD now tops opinion polls as the most favored party nationwide.
This narrative may find success among Germany’s electorate as a whole. But it’s a different story in Berlin, where Kohler stands as a party representative. At the state level, a center-right SPD/CDU coalition is firmly in power, a large left-wing bloc wields influence, and people are skeptical of the AfD’s restrictive approach to migration. Internally, the state party faces challenges, too. It has been plagued by a history of infighting and incompetence; one former member accused AfD Berlin of embodying “unambitious mediocrity and opportunistic indifference.” The confident authority with which Kohler spoke during Winter’s video belied these challenges, which have impeded AfD’s ability to generate and then capitalize on anti-migration fears in Berlin
Kohler, though, has not given up on winning over Berlin. “As a patriot,” he said. “If you give up the capital city, you can give up the whole project of getting in power and conquering your country back.”
What would it take for Kohler and his peers to turn AfD’s ship around in Berlin? And what would this mean for AfD’s national chances if they succeed?
