Matthias Helferich
{{Short description|German politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Matthias Helferich
| image =
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| office = Member of the Bundestag
for North Rhine-Westphalia
| term_start = 26 October 2021
| term_end =
| party = AfD (since 2016)
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1988|10|14}}
| birth_place = Dortmund, West Germany
| death_date =
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| alma_mater = Bonn University
| occupation = Lawyer • Politician
| profession =
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| constituency1 =
| otherparty = Young Union (formerly)
| constituency = AfD Party List
| parliamentarygroup = Independent
(2021–2025)
AfD (since 2025)
}}
Matthias Helferich (born 14 October 1988) is a German right-wing politician for the Alternative for Germany party.{{cite web |title=Bundeswahlleiter (Federal Election Commissioner of Germany) - Elected Politicians in the Federal Election 2021 |url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/bundestagswahlen/2021/gewaehlte/bund-99/h.html |website=bundeswahlleiter |access-date=16 December 2022}} He has been a factionless member of the Bundestag since 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundestag.de/abgeordnete/biografien/H/helferich_matthias-860592|title=Deutscher Bundestag - Matthias Helferich|website=Deutscher Bundestag}} In 2025, he was re-admitted to the AfD parliamentary group like the fellow controversial politician Maximilian Krah.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/25/afd-readmits-two-politicians-excluded-over-nazi-related-remarks][https://www.ft.com/content/81b967f0-997a-416d-aabc-a17e85c521d0]
Career
Helferich was born in 1988 in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He served at Bundeswehr in guard unit (Wachbataillon) in Siegburg and begann to study 2009 law at University Bonn.
Helferich was elected to the Bundestag in 2021. Although a party member of AfD, he never entered the party faction and is currently a factionless member of the Bundestag.
Within the AfD, Helferich is part of the ethnic-national wing under Björn Höcke.{{Cite web |last=deutschlandfunk.de |date=2025-02-25 |title=AfD-Fraktion - Umstrittene AfD-Politiker im Bundestag |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/umstrittene-afd-politiker-im-bundestag-100.html |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Die Nachrichten |language=de}}
{{Conservatism in Germany}}
In 2025, he was re-admitted back into the AfD faction.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/25/afd-readmits-two-politicians-excluded-over-nazi-related-remarks][https://www.ft.com/content/81b967f0-997a-416d-aabc-a17e85c521d0]
Political views
Helferich called himself a "democratic Freisler", referring to a Nazi-era judge.{{Cite news |last=Joswig |first=Gareth |date=2025-02-25 |title=AfD mit Helferich und Krah: Das „freundliche Gesicht des NS“ |url=https://taz.de/AfD-mit-Helferich-und-Krah/!6068620/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |work=Die Tageszeitung: taz |language=de |issn=0931-9085}} He later said that his statements were meant as parody: "If you are confronted with Nazi accusations as frequently as AfD politicians, you compensate for that in private spheres. You ridicule it."{{Cite news |date=2021-09-30 |title=Matthias Helferich: AfD-Politiker verzichtet nach NS-Äußerung auf Fraktionszugehörigkeit |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/matthias-helferich-afd-politiker-verzichtet-nach-ns-aeusserung-in-chat-auf-fraktionszugehoerigkeit-a-c26e5826-a2e3-4390-ad54-99ab1c2185f0 |access-date=2023-11-22 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}{{Cite news |last=Weiland |first=Severin |date=2021-08-09 |title=AfD und Matthias Helferich: Jörg Meuthen scheitert im Streit über AfD-Landesvize |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-und-matthias-helferich-joerg-meuthen-scheitert-im-streit-ueber-afd-landesvize-a-2d90513f-68df-4f47-9502-c3782a677f88 |access-date=2023-11-22 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}{{Cite news |date=2024-05-08 |title=Going to the extreme: Inside Germany's far right |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68931170 |access-date=2024-12-11 |work=BBC |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}{{Members of the 20th Bundestag}}{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helferich, Matthias}}
Category:Members of the Bundestag 2021–2025
Category:Politicians from Dortmund
Category:University of Bonn alumni
Category:Members of the Bundestag 2025–2029
Category:Members of the Bundestag for the Alternative for Germany