Tim Schramm is a 22-year-old politician, district vice-president of AfD-Wuppertal, who has fought as a volunteer in the ranks of the Ukrainian army.
What is your role in the AfD?
I have always worked at the local level, as district vice-chairman of AfD-Wuppertal, and in the upcoming elections I am running for city councilor. However, right now I am also working with the AfD group in the European Parliament.
However, I think you have a strong military vocation.
Yes, since I was a child my dream was to belong to the army, to the Bundeswehr, and when I finished my studies I applied to the officer’s school. I passed the selection process and the physical tests, but at the last stage, when you have to decide where you want to serve, I was told that my math score was not high enough. I didn’t give up, and I tried to enlist as a soldier, but they rejected me again for no reason. Then, I understood that the problem was my membership in the Junge Alternative, the AfD youth, which made me fall into the “extremist” category. We have an army that doesn’t want patriots, so what do they want, an army of leftists?
And what lead you to join the Ukrainian army?
Going back to the beginning, curiously enough, the reason is the AfD. Before the war broke out I was quite pro-Russian and basically believed all their propaganda, but the AfD in my state organized a humanitarian aid convoy with medical supplies shortly after the invasion started. I decided to go to Ukraine with them and was impressed by what I saw.
In what way?
I was impressed by the enormous spirit of patriotism. Even in western Ukraine, over a thousand kilometers from the front lines, everyone was organizing to protect themselves and help their army. There were flags everywhere and I saw that Ukrainians were united to defend themselves against a power that wanted to sweep them away; that patriotism is something that any European conservative would miss in his country. After that first trip, I returned alone to Ukraine and tried to enlist in the International Legion, but I was a 19-year-old with no military experience, and understandably I was rejected. The following year, I returned with two friends from Wuppertal and we had an accident near Lviv. The Ukrainians reached out to us to help us and I forged a real bond with them because of that accident. Subsequently, I returned to Ukraine to visit these friends and thanks to them I have a personal connection to this country.
In late 2024, I tried again, but this time I had acquaintances in the Territorial Defense, which is part of the Ukrainian military, and I was able to enlist.
How did your colleagues in the AfD react when you enlisted in the Territorial Defense?
At the time, I didn’t say anything to anyone for security reasons, it was simply something I had to do because I wanted to help more. I was aware that my decision would not please those who have this simplistic view of only caring about Germany. I worry mostly about Germany, but Germany is in the center of Europe, so if something affects Europe I have to worry about that too; the world doesn’t stop at Germany’s border.
Were you the only foreigner and how was your experience with the Ukrainian soldiers?
Yes, all my comrades were Ukrainian and I was very well received in the unit; they were very appreciative that a German was fighting alongside them. I am fluent in Ukrainian and able to communicate, but many spoke “surzhyk”, a dialect, and I was assigned a translator.
What about the war?
In a way it was how I expected, because I had read a lot of books about people who had gone to war. The worst thing was waiting: you would wait for what seemed like hours, doing nothing, and start thinking about when the next grenade was going to be thrown, because the usual thing was that we would get shot at by artillery, and whether that grenade would finish you off. Waiting is what can break your mind.
I was in Hulajpole, in the region of Zaporiyia. It was not a calm area, but it was quite “safe” because its geographical situation made direct contact with the enemy, who would have to cross miles of open country to reach our lines, very difficult. Nevertheless, our positions frequently came under artillery fire, glider bombs and tank fire.
How was morale among your comrades in arms?
It was pretty good. In mid-March and April we were joking about all the talk about the possibilities of peace, but they were very clear that it was not worth worrying about, and they replied that we just had to keep doing the job: defending Ukraine. I didn’t hear a single defeatist comment.
Back in Germany, what do you think is at stake for your country in this war?
I think we have a lot more at stake than people think. Of course, I want peace and I want the best for my Ukrainian friends, but that peace cannot be a capitulation, which in the end would mean the disappearance of the country, its identity and its people, and it would be a catastrophe for the whole of Europe. If Ukraine stops fighting, it will disappear.
Regarding Germany, I think it should send to Ukraine everything that rolls and shoots. Russia keeps threatening us, just watch how on Russian TV they talk over and over again about retaking Berlin, and realistically, right now the only ones who can stop the Russians are Ukrainian soldiers, because it’s not enough to have guns, you need to have people with the will to use those guns. That’s something I learned in Ukraine.
Should Europe continue to send arms to Ukraine?
Yes, as much as possible. And I say this not only because I like Ukraine, I say this as a German patriot, because it is in our interest to defend Ukraine. It is cheaper to send German steel to Ukraine than German blood to the Baltics.
What was the reaction of your AfD colleagues when it became known that you had served as a volunteer in Ukraine?
I wasn’t sure about going public, but it was several of my colleagues, including some high-ranking members, who encouraged me. The response was very positive, although I have also received criticism, but I think the most important thing is to open a debate within the party. Our program says nothing about us having to be pro-Russian and I think we have to open our eyes to what is happening in this war, as other European conservative parties have done. Also, morally we have to support the country that has been invaded and defend its sovereignty.
I have given some talks in the party about my experience and the reasons why we have to support Ukraine, and they have been well received. So I am optimistic and hope that our position on Ukraine will change, because we have to change it.
It is not an easy task, in Europe Russian propaganda is present on both sides of the political spectrum.
It is true, Russian propaganda is very effective and it doesn’t matter if you are right-wing or left-wing, everyone is sold a romantic vision of Russia that is completely false. Anyone who thinks that Russia is a conservative alternative does not know Russia. After my first trips to Ukraine I was invited to a wedding in Russia. I got a new passport and drove there from Latvia, so I got to see a lot of the real Russia and understood why Ukrainians don’t want to be part of that world. It is a dictatorship where you feel the total lack of freedom. I only felt safe when I crossed the Latvian border and thought I was finally in the EU. I would never have believed I could have that thought.
And yes, supporting Ukraine costs money, but the reality is that security is expensive, it is not free. Ukrainians have learned that freedom is not delivered, it has to be defended; we have to do the same.
