extremism
Correctiv brings research on Potsdam meetings to the theater
At a staged reading on the Berliner Ensemble stage, Correctiv presents details of a meeting of AfD politicians, right-wing extremists and entrepreneurs. photo
© Carsten Koall/dpa
Reports about a meeting between right-wing activists and politicians from the AfD and CDU in Potsdam have triggered strong reactions. Now the media company Correctiv is presenting the extensive research to an audience.
A week after the revelations about a meeting between right-wing activists and politicians from AfD and CDU in Potsdam, the media company Correctiv presented its research in the Berliner Ensemble.
During a staged reading on Wednesday evening, the editorial team also published some new details and allegations against a participant in the meeting. This is about actions against left-wing activists. The German Press Agency contacted the person and asked for a statement.
This is how Correctiv gets the information
The remaining information now presented to the public has been known since last week. Actors read the results of the extensive investigative research with assigned roles. It became somewhat clearer how Correctiv obtained the information. Among other things, the media company said it rented a sauna boat and took photos of the villa from there with a telephoto lens. A person with a clock also filmed inside the building. The journalists also referred to “memory protocols” from participants.
Correctiv made the meeting organized by right-wing activists in a Potsdam villa on November 25 last week public. There, Martin Sellner, former head of the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement in Austria, said he spoke about “remigration”. When right-wing extremists use the term, they usually mean that large numbers of people of foreign origin should leave the country – even under duress. AfD officials as well as individual members of the CDU and the ultra-conservative Values Union took part in the meeting. The purpose of the meeting is also said to have been to collect donations for right-wing activities.
“Together against fascism”
The audience in the sold-out Berliner Ensemble applauded for minutes after the reading. There were also chants from the audience: “All together against fascism.” After the event, publicist Michel Friedman praised the research and the performance. It was a “great achievement of free journalism,” Friedman told broadcaster Sat1.
With a view to the state elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg in the fall, Friedman called on everyone to get involved against the AfD. “We still have nine months left,” he said. “We haven’t given up yet.” Regarding the debate about a ban on the AfD, Friedman said that this option exists under the law. Whether it is politically expedient needs to be discussed. Because such a ban would take a lot of time.
Protests in Germany
The Correctiv report triggered strong political reactions. In recent days, thousands have protested against right-wing extremism in various German cities. On Wednesday evening there were 3,500 in Berlin. Thousands also protested in Freiburg.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressly thanked the demonstrators for taking to the streets “against racism, hate speech and for our free democracy.” “This is encouraging and shows: There are many of us democrats – much more than those who want to divide,” wrote the SPD politician on X, formerly Twitter.
The performance was staged in the Berliner Ensemble by director Kay Voges, director of the Volkstheater Vienna. The event was broadcast live to other theaters and on the Internet.