Across the country, tens of thousands have once again taken to the streets against right-wing extremism. The largest demonstration took place in Hamburg. The organizers had expected 10,000 people there – so many came that the rally had to be stopped.
Tens of thousands of people across the country protested against right-wing extremism and racism on Friday. In Münster, around 20,000 people followed the call for a demo. The police eventually closed the cathedral square due to overcrowding. More than 10,000 people were also out and about in other cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, such as Bochum.
Hamburg demo ended due to overcrowding
By far the largest demonstration took place in Hamburg. The organizers had expected a good 10,000 people there – but significantly more people came: the crowd was so big that the rally had to be stopped early. Participants reported an extreme crowd, and in some cases it was impossible to get through. Local public transport also came to a standstill in parts due to the crowds.
The final number of participants is not yet available, but according to the police, at least 50,000 people were on the streets. The DGB Hamburg, which is one of the organizers of the rally, reported 80,000 people. And the SPD politician Kazim Abaci from the Entrepreneurs Without Borders association, who also helped organize the demo, even spoke of 130,000 demonstrators.
“We are strong because we are determined”
Numerous celebrities and politicians also took part in the Hamburg protest. Hamburg’s First Mayor Peter Tschentscher sharply attacked the AfD in his speech: “The message to the AfD and its right-wing networks is: We are the majority and we are strong because we are united and because we are determined to protect our country and our democracy not to allow it to be destroyed a second time after 1945.” These days it’s not just about political or legal strategies against enemies of the constitution. “It’s also about human solidarity and cohesion.” said the SPD politician.
The council chairwoman of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Hamburg Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, said that a limit had been crossed with calls for the mass expulsion of people with a migrant background. When fantasies of expulsion made the rounds, “a creeping, wet frost” spread across the country. “We don’t want the social climate to get colder. This is also climate change that we have to stop,” emphasized Fehrs. The Christian faith and ethnic thinking did not fit together, just as the cross and swastika did not fit together.
The reason for the numerous demonstrations against the right is a report about a secret meeting of right-wing extremists at the end of November, which the media company Correctiv made public. AfD politicians also took part in the meeting in Potsdam, at which the well-known neo-Nazi Martin Sellner, among others, spoke about the mass expulsion of people with a migration background – including the speaker for AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, Roland Hartwig. Weidel has now separated from her employee.
More large demonstrations this weekend
Tens of thousands of people across Germany are also expected to take part in demonstrations against the right and for democracy this weekend. Up to 30,000 participants are expected in Frankfurt am Main. In Kassel, Giessen, Limburg and other cities in Hesse, people also want to take to the streets against the right.
The organizers are also expecting significantly more than 10,000 participants at a rally in Hanover on Saturday. Further larger demos are planned in Dortmund, Erfurt and Heidelberg, among others. In Karlsruhe, a demonstration is scheduled to take place past the Federal Constitutional Court.
On Sunday, 10,000 to 20,000 participants are expected at a demonstration against the right in Munich alone. Rallies have also been registered in Dresden and Berlin, as well as in Bremen. There have been many rallies against right-wing extremism in the past few days, often with significantly more participants than expected.
Scholz warns: Defend democracy now
The demonstrators received a lot of support from politicians – including from Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In his video podcast, Scholz called on all citizens to defend democracy now. “I’ll say it very clearly and harshly: Right-wing extremists are attacking our democracy. They want to destroy our cohesion.” That’s why “everyone is now called upon to take a clear and unequivocal position: for cohesion, for tolerance, for our democratic Germany.”
“Millions of people” would be affected by the expulsion plans discussed among right-wing extremists in Potsdam. “That thought sends icy chills down your spine,” said Scholz. The fact that people are now asking themselves whether they still have a future in Germany is “terrible”. “That’s why I would like to say to all of you: You belong to us! Our country needs you!” emphasized the Chancellor.
Scholz expressly welcomed the demonstrations against the right – he himself took part in a rally in Potsdam. “Because what we are currently experiencing here in our country really concerns us all – each and every one of us.” If something should “never have a place again” in Germany, it is “the ethnic racial ideology of the National Socialists,” warned Scholz.