Germany's far-right AfD party on Sunday said it had suspended a longtime spokesman, reportedly after he described himself as a fascist and praised his "Aryan grandfather".

Die Zeit newspaper wrote that Christian Lueth was relieved of his duties at the request of senior party figure Alexander Gauland following an internal review.

"He has been suspended," a spokesman for the AfD's parliamentary group confirmed to AFP.

Lueth had allegedly "repeatedly described himself as a fascist and referred to his grandfather's Aryan lineage", the paper wrote in its online edition, citing party sources.

Lueth's grandfather was a submarine commander during World War II and received an Iron Cross from Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the newspaper said.

AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla confirmed the suspension to Der Spiegel weekly, but declined to comment on the reason. Spiegel said Lueth had not been officially sacked yet, "but it doesn't look good".