The AfD invites interested parties to public citizen dialogues. But many people are currently gathering there to demonstrate against these events.
Applause in the historic Schützenhof in Paderborn, the rows are well filled. They sit close together in the hall that evening, mostly AfD members and mostly men. You are listening to Roger Beckamp, member of the Bundestag, at the AfD citizens’ dialogue. “One thing is really good right now. Everyone in this room has undoubtedly heard the term ‘remigration’,” says the AfD politician on stage.
The meeting also deals with the AfD’s plans for expulsion and deportation in Germany. “For my part, I can say that we won’t change anything,” says Beckamp. “We are grateful that, despite all the distorted things that are reflected in the media, the term ‘remigration’ is used. This is an advantage for us in terms of perception.”
The walls in the Schützenhof are clad in wood, and paintings by famous people from the city of Paderborn can be found on the high walls. Around 120 people came. One of the visitors said about the party that he found “nothing National Socialist – there is nothing radical about it.” That’s just “the middle-class middle class”.
5,000 want to take a stand against the AfD
The 5,000 people who gathered outside in front of the Schützenhof see things completely differently. Directly opposite the AfD event, they gather in Paderborn for a demonstration against the AfD and right-wing extremism. They perceive what is discussed in the Schützenhof as very critical.
1,000 people registered, and according to the police, five times as many came in the end. They demonstrate for more than two hours with music and speeches. The people stayed on the square and showed no signs of wanting to disrupt the AfD meeting directly across the street throughout the evening.
It’s pouring rain, but they pull their hoods down over their faces and hold their posters up in the cold evening. “The world is colorful”, “human rights instead of right-wing people” and “Ekelh-AfD” can be read there.
Willy Ernst from the “Paderborn Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance” did not expect this rush. “We are overwhelmed and we are happy that so many people came. A lot of people were shaken up and that is important,” he says.
AfD sees itself defamed
AfD member of the Bundestag Beckamp feels defamed by the protests directly in front of the Schützenhof. The tone is becoming harsher towards his party. This is certainly not always easy, especially for ordinary party members and supporters. The allegations against the AfD are false, says Beckamp.
“If the agitation continues like this, these henchmen will soon be self-righteously standing in front of the party office with the torchlight march against the right,” writes the spokesman for the AfD Paderborn council group, Marvin Weber, on social media.
Events and counter-demonstrations
But there can be no question of this in the protests against the AfD event in Paderborn. The demonstration is loud and colorful, but without violence. It looks similar a day later in Eitorf in the Rhein-Sieg district. According to the police, around 3,000 people came. The demonstrations are consistently carried out without incident. The procession of demonstrators passes the AfD venue.
Inside you can hear the whistles and boos, a banner “Hate is not an opinion” hangs above the entrance to the community center, and some AfD supporters stand in front of the community center with a poster “Migration has its limits.”
A woman approaches Beckamp and stands directly in front of him. She holds her middle finger in his face. When the mood becomes a little rougher, police officers stand between the camps and form a chain. At the end, the protest march continues with chants and ends at the market square. Another clash of political opinions in the middle of a small German town.