American billionaire and Trump confidant Elon Musk posted a six-word sentence on his social-media platform, X, that jolted Germany’s political landscape. “Only the AfD can save Germany,” he wrote, embracing the far-right populist Alternative for Germany party,

A gesture associated with the Nazis has a surprising history. But in Germany, there was little doubt about its meaning.

Musk then slapped his chest with his right hand, before flinging it diagonally upwards, palm face down. He turned around to audience members behind the podium, and repeated the gesture. “My heart goes out to you,