Tens of thousands of people took to the streets again at the weekend against right-wing extremism and for tolerance. According to initial counts, up to 10,000 people gathered in Würzburg on Sunday afternoon, a police spokesman said.
In Augsburg, according to police information, around 6,500 people demonstrated on the town hall square in the evening under the motto “Sea of Lights for Democracy & Diversity”. The event organized by the non-partisan association “Alliance for Human Dignity Augsburg eV” wanted to set an example against hatred, agitation, racism and anti-Semitism. The action followed a demonstration at the same location at the beginning of February, where an estimated 25,000 people gathered for diversity and against exclusion. Thousands of people also demonstrated in other cities in Germany.
Religions demonstrate together
In Würzburg, the crowds at the beginning of the rally stretched from the cathedral square almost to the Old Main Bridge. The motto of the meeting was: “Protect diversity!” People who are themselves affected by discrimination and racism were given the floor on stage. The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, Würzburg Bishop Franz Jung and the spokesman for the Islamic communities in Würzburg, Ahmet Bastürk, also spoke.
Stefan Lutz-Simon, who registered the meeting for the Würzburg “Alliance for Democracy and Civil Courage”, sees the gathering of religions as a clear signal: “We will not allow ourselves to be divided and we all stand very clearly against these tendencies that we have in ours Experience the country,” he told BR24. Instead of a demonstration procession, there were several information stands before the rally.
Focus on culture – no speeches from politicians in Augsburg
In Augsburg, the participants were asked to light up the town hall square with lights – but without an open fire – in order to collectively send a visible signal for democracy and diversity. According to organizer Matthias Lorentzen, the event was characterized by an increased focus on art and culture. There were no speeches from politicians. Rather, the focus was on artists to set an example for an open, tolerant and democratic society. The Augsburg poetry slammer Ezgi Zengin, for example, dealt with the topic of everyday racism in her text.
The event began in the early evening with a performance by the brass band “Breath Attack” and offered a program of music, poetry slam and speeches. Tülay Ates-Brunner from the “Tür an Tür” association in Augsburg, an organization that promotes the integration and support of refugees, was also there. Helmut Hartmann, who was awarded the Augsburg Peace Prize in 2003, also spoke because he campaigned for tolerance and understanding between different cultures and religions. During the Nazi era, Hartmann experienced discrimination and hatred because his mother had Jewish roots.
Sea of lights on Lake Starnberg
There was also a sea of lights in Starnberg today – on the lake promenade. According to police, around 600 people took part in the rally. They took a stand against right-wing extremism with cell phones, lanterns, flashlights and fairy lights. According to the police, the event ended without a hitch after around two hours. The newly founded Starnberg association “gemeinsam.demokratisch.bunt” called for the event. The model was the sea of lights on the Theresienwiese in Munich three weeks ago.
Kilometer-long human chain between Bochum and Herne
According to police, 15,000 people also showed their flag across Germany, for example at a rally in Duisburg on Saturday. This exceeded the registered number of participants by 5,000, as a police spokeswoman said. Under the motto “Duisburg is really colorful,” the German Federation of Trade Unions called for the demonstration for social cohesion and against exclusion, hatred and agitation.
In Bochum and Herne on Sunday, around 5,000 people lined up in a kilometer-long human chain during an action under the motto “Side by side for democracy and humanity”, as the leader of the meeting said, citing police information. There are “one or two gaps” in the chain between the two town halls, but there is even more going on in other places. Bochum’s mayor Thomas Eiskirch and his counterpart from Herne, Frank Dudda (both SPD), also took part in the city limits.
There have been repeated demonstrations “against the right” for weeks
Almost 700 people had already gathered in Nuremberg on Saturday and demonstrated against right-wing extremism, as a police spokesman from Middle Franconia said. This demo also went smoothly.
For weeks, thousands of people across the country have been demonstrating for democracy – and against the AfD. The protests were triggered by a report by the research network “Correctiv” about a meeting of radical right-wingers on November 25th in Potsdam, which was also attended by AfD politicians and individual members of the CDU and the very conservative Union of Values.
With information from dpa