On 22 October 2010 she married German-Chilean businessman Sven von Storch (born 1970), member of a German noble family from Mecklenburg. He is the son of businessman Berndt Detlev von Storch(1930–2004) and Antje Liete Krüger-Franke (b. 1938).[5][6]
Education and early career
Von Storch was a banker before she studied law in Heidelberg and Lausanne. She worked as a lawyer in Berlin when she began her political career. She has also been a member of the Friedrich A. von Hayek Society [de].[7]
Together with her husband, she founded several conservative associations. On several occasions, the tax authorities have investigated the couple, accused in particular of having misappropriated donations intended for their associations.[8]
Von Storch was a co-founder of the Göttinger Kreis – Students for the Rule of Law Association – an organization which sought to campaign for reparation for the expulsions and nationalization of land in the Soviet occupied zones of Germany and the former East Germany. The organization calls for appropriated land to be returned to their original owners. The association organized various events with Mikhail Gorbachev, among others.[9][10]
Von Storch has been described as a social conservative. She has expressed opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.[13] She has accused school gay youth networks of using "forced sexualization" on their students. Von Storch also supported the United Kingdom's vote for Brexit and is a friend of British eurosceptic politician Nigel Farage.[14][15] In parliament, she regularly shows her support for Israel which she regards as an ally in the fight against Islamism and in 2017 created the pro-Israel "Friends of Judea-Samaria" group in the European Parliament.[16] Asked in 2016 about the ideological proximity between the AfD and the Front national, she believes that on economic issues, Marine Le Pen is too far to the left, stating that she does not agree with Le Pen's ideas on protectionism and state interventionism.[17] She has been characterized as a member and supporter of the more moderate Alternative Mitte faction of the AfD.[18][19][20]
Controversies
Legal battle with the Berliner Schaubühne
In November 2015, a leading Berlin theatre, the Schaubühne, was brought into legal conflict with Beatrix von Storch over a play, Falk Richter's FEAR, that parodied AfD leaders as zombies and mass murderers.[21] Beatrix von Storch is depicted facing retribution for her grandfather's role as a minister in Hitler's government.[22] AfD Spokesperson Christian Lüth responded by interrupting a performance and filming it. Beatrix von Storch and the conservative activist Hedwig von Beverfoerde then requested and obtained a preliminary injunction against the theatre, prohibiting it from using images of them in the production. They charged that the use of the images violated their human dignity protected under the Constitution.[23] On 15 December 2015, the court ruled against the complainants in favour of the theatre's freedom of expression and lifted the injunctions against using the images. The judges commented that 'any audience member can recognize that this is just a play'.[24]
Remarks about use of deadly force against refugees
In late February 2016, von Storch was "pied" by members of the German left-wing group Peng Collective at a party meeting in Kassel. The activists, dressed as clowns, protested against her assertion that German border control personnel had the right to shoot at incoming illegal immigrants. A YouTube video of the assault gained wide attention in social media.[25][26]
"Rapist hordes" tweet
Von Storch's Twitter account was blocked for twelve hours after she posted a criticism of the Cologne Police Department for publishing a New Years greeting in Arabic as well as in German, French and English. She had written: "What the hell is wrong with this country? Why is the official page of the police in NRW tweeting in Arabic? Are they seeking to appease the barbaric, Muslim, rapist hordes of men?" Cologne was the location of multiple sexual assaults and robbery on New Year's Eve, December 2015 (see New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany). Other prominent members of the AfD quickly sprang to von Storch's defense, including Alice Weidel.[27]
^Regarding personal names: Herzogin was a title before 1919, but now is regarded as part of the surname. It is translated as Duchess. Before the August 1919 abolition of nobility as a legal class, titles preceded the full name when given (Graf Helmuth James von Moltke). Since 1919, these titles, along with any nobiliary prefix (von, zu, etc.), can be used, but are regarded as a dependent part of the surname, and thus come after any given names (Helmuth James Graf von Moltke). Titles and all dependent parts of surnames are ignored in alphabetical sorting. The masculine form is Herzog.
The generations are numbered from the ascension of Frederick August I as Duke of Oldenburg in 1774 and remained unchanged even when its ruler became Grand Duke. Only duchesses notable enough for standalone articles are included.
