Show your face against right-wing extremism: This weekend, too, many people took to the streets across Germany. According to the police, around 100,000 gathered in Düsseldorf alone. There were also actions in numerous smaller towns.
It is the third weekend of protests in a row since reporters reported on a secret meeting between AfD representatives and right-wing extremists. Demonstrations were called in many places across the country and tens of thousands came. Here are some examples:
North Rhine-Westphalia
In Dusseldorf A march across the Rhine took place under the motto “Against the AfD – We are not silent. We don’t look away. We act!”. According to the police, up to 65,000 people took part; at the main rally on the Rhine meadows there were up to 100,000. The motto here was: “Never again is now! For democracy and the rule of law!” 30,000 participants were expected.
The protesters included people of all ages, including many families with children. In Düsseldorf tradition, some of the demonstrators marched with punk music. The banners had inscriptions such as “I generally don’t like Nazis” and “Not again!” A 69-year-old, who, in his own words, took part in a demonstration for the first time in decades, said: “If we don’t show our colors now, we’ll go in a direction from which we can’t get out.”
According to police, around 20,000 people took part Aachen, Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) were there. Protests were also registered for other North Rhine-Westphalian cities, for example in Cologne and Gelsenkirchen.
Lower Saxony
The demonstration in Lower Saxony also had prominent political support Osnabruck, where Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) took to the streets. According to police, he was one of around 25,000 people. He appealed to citizens to resolutely stand up for democracy. “We stand together against the hatred of the fascists and the AfD. We stand for the freedom and human dignity of every individual, because human dignity is inviolable,” said the Osnabrück native and former mayor of the city.
Anyone who votes for the AfD in protest must be clear that they are voting for fascists. Pistorius warned: The democracy of the Weimar Republic was not destroyed by the strength of its enemies, but by the weakness of its supporters. “There weren’t enough people who stood up.” Democracy needs passion and commitment, warned Pistorius. “Indifference to democracy delivers it to the fascists.”
Baden-Württemberg
In Baden-Württemberg Sigmaringen Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) took part in a demonstration as a private individual. According to the police, a total of around 2,000 people came. Many families were at the protest. Posters read, among other things: “Ekelhafd” or “Voting right is 1939.” In To sing the police counted around 4,000 demonstrators.
Rhineland-Palatinate
According to police reports, around 6,000 people took part in the largest demonstration in Rhineland-Palatinate. For the protest in Kaiserslautern According to the organizers, more than 50 initiatives, clubs, parties and institutions had announced their support in advance. In Worms The police counted around 4,000 demonstrators.
Schleswig-Holstein
In Kiel The police counted around 11,500 participants in a demonstration against right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism. “Our democracy is more stable than the democracy of 100 years ago, but let’s not be too sure,” said Mayor Ulf Kampf (SPD). In Lübeck According to the police, around 8,000 demonstrators came together.
Actions for democracy, solidarity and diversity were also organized in many smaller places, for example in pagan, Elmshorn and Husum. They often came loudly NDR more people than expected.
Bavaria
Also In many places in Bavaria, people took to the streetsfor example in Sonthofen and Lindau with around 2,000 participants each. In Schwabach According to police information, more than 5,000 citizens joined a demonstration. In Neumarkt in Upper Palatinate Around 1,500 people gathered under the motto “Silence is no longer enough – become active against the right”. In Ingolstadt According to the police, around 6,000 people came together.
Hesse
Demonstrations against right-wing tendencies also took place in many Hessian cities and communities; political and cultural alliances often called for the demos. The biggest event began in the afternoon Marburg: According to police information, around 16,000 people gathered in the city center – under the motto “Marburg against the right”.
Brandenburg
In Brandenburg Frankfurt (Oder) As it was said, the largest demonstration took place in the city for many years, and here too the motto was “Never again is now!”. The police spoke of 4,000 participants, the organizers of around 5,000.
Thuringia
Also in Thuringian Weimar Hundreds of people demonstrated against right-wing extremism. According to the police, 1,500 participants took part and the organizers counted 2,000 people. It was said that the theater square was full and the audience was diverse.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
The largest rally against right-wing extremism in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania took place in Wismar. According to the police, 1,500 people gathered at the train station at midday. There was another rally for democracy, diversity and humanity with around 170 people on the town hall square in Wolgast. Also in Boizenburg a demonstration took place.
Congratulations from the Chancellor
Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the numerous demonstrations against right-wing extremism in the past few days and weeks. “Our country is currently on its feet. Millions of citizens are taking to the streets,” said the SPD politician in his weekly video “Chancellor Compact”. It is the solidarity of the democrats that makes democracy strong. “Our democracy is not God-given. It is man-made. It is strong when we support it. And it needs us when it is attacked.” On the occasion of today’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, Scholz also called for a more determined fight against anti-Semitism and racism.
The current protests against right-wing extremism were triggered by revelations by the research network Correctiv about a meeting of radical right-wingers on November 25, 2023, in which some AfD politicians as well as individual members of the CDU and the very conservative Values Union took part in Potsdam.