Merz's grandfather Josef Paul Sauvigny was a [[Nazi]] politician and mayor of Brilon in western Germany. Sauvigny praised the Nazi “national revolution” in 1933 and renamed his town's streets after party bigwigs. He applied for membership in the [[Nazi party]] as early as May 1933, a few months after [[Hitler]] seized power. Friedrich Merz has described his grandfather as "an admirable role model". | Merz's grandfather Josef Paul Sauvigny was a [[Nazi]] politician and mayor of Brilon in western Germany. Sauvigny praised the Nazi “national revolution” in 1933 and renamed his town's streets after party bigwigs. He applied for membership in the [[Nazi party]] as early as May 1933, a few months after [[Hitler]] seized power. Friedrich Merz has described his grandfather as "an admirable role model". |