LEIPZIG, Germany, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The founder of the anti-Islamic movement PEGIDA stepped down Wednesday after he was photographed posing as Adolf Hitler, just hours before a massive rally was expected to get underway in east-central Germany.
Lutz Bachmann stepped down after he posted a Facebook photo of himself with the distinctive Hitler toothbrush mustache and his hair swept to the side with the caption "He's back." Bachman said the photo was a joke, but resigned from the group, apologizing for having "harmed the interests of our movement.'
"I apologize sincerely to all citizens who feel offended by my posts," Bachmann said on the Facebook page of PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.
The resignation comes as LEGIDA, the Leipzig offshoot of the PEGIDA movement, prepares for a rally expected to draw up to 100,000. Thousand of police are expected to be monitoring the protests.
PEGIDA, founded in 2014 in Dresden, and LEGIDA marches have become more common as anti-Islam sentiment spreads through parts of Europe. Last week, up to 25,000 PEGIDA supporters marched in Dresden, drawing scores of extremists. Thousands, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, joined counter-demonstrations. Just days later, PEGIDA marches were called off because of security threats from Islamic militants.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas has urged PEGIDA to cancel rallies, including one that took place in the wake of the terrorist attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Other German leaders as well are quick to distance themselves from the movement, fearing it will damage the country's reputation.
"The PEGIDA movement is not representative of Germany, its people and its economy," Alexander Wilhelm, deputy head of the Confederation of German Employers Associations, told The Washington Times.
