overview
There were many on the move at the weekend: hundreds of thousands of people protested across Germany against right-wing extremism and for tolerance. A balance by federal state.
The crowds were huge after groups, alliances and organizations throughout Germany called for protests against right-wing extremism over the weekend. A selection from the federal states:
Baden-Württemberg
Thousands of people gathered in Stuttgart on Saturday under the motto “All together against the AfD”. The organizers assumed there would be at least 20,000 people – the police thought this was plausible “at peak times”. According to police estimates, around 20,000 people also took to the streets in Karlsruhe. According to officials, there were between 8,000 and 10,000 demonstrators in Ulm, around 18,000 in Heidelberg, around 5,000 each in Freiburg and Offenburg, and around 3,000 in Pforzheim.
Bavaria
According to the police, around 80,000 people took part in a demonstration in Munich on Sunday – the event was canceled for security reasons due to the large number of people.
According to the police, around 15,000 people came to the demonstration in Nuremberg on Saturday – the organizer spoke of at least 20,000 people. Chants shouted: “The whole of Nuremberg hates the AfD!” In Würzburg the police counted up to 3,000 people, in Aschaffenburg around 800. In Bamberg, according to the police, around 6,000 people took part under the motto “Defend Democracy”.
Berlin
Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the Bundestag in Berlin on Sunday to protest against right-wing extremism and the AfD. At the start of the event at 4 p.m., 30,000 participants were there, the police reported. Within an hour the number of participants had risen to around 100,000; organizers spoke of 350,000 people.
Brandenburg
According to the organizers, around 5,000 people took to the streets in Cottbus on Sunday – the police counted around 3,500. The motto of the campaign was “Together against the right – we are the firewall”. According to the police, there were up to 300 people in Spremberg on Saturday.
Bremen
According to police estimates, around 50,000 people gathered in Bremen on Sunday for the “Loud Against the Right” rally. The organizers spoke of around 70,000 participants. “The whole of Bremen hates the AfD,” shouted chants during the rally. “All together against fascism.”
Hamburg
On Friday evening, a demonstration against the right-wing and the AfD in Hamburg was canceled due to the large number of people. One of the organizers cited safety concerns. The police said there were 50,000 participants, the organizers assumed there were 80,000. A broad alliance of trade unions, churches, cultural workers, business associations, parties and clubs called for the rally.
Hesse
In Frankfurt the police counted around 40,000 participants. The motto of Saturday’s event was “Defend Democracy.” The Roman was full of people carrying banners with slogans like “All together against fascism” and “No place for Nazis.” According to the police, there were 12,000 people in Kassel and Giessen, and around 2,800 in Limburg. According to officials, around 2,000 people demonstrated in Offenbach on Sunday.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
According to the police, around 1,200 people demonstrated in Stralsund on Friday evening – the organizers spoke of at least 2,000 people. There had already been numerous demonstrations for the preservation of democracy in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania over the course of the week.
Lower Saxony
According to police and organizers, around 35,000 people took to the streets in Hanover on Saturday. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) called on the listeners to take a clear stance against the right in their own environment and to stand up for human rights and democracy. “Let’s defend our democracy.” Demonstrators carried placards that read “We are colorful” or “Fascism is not an alternative.”
According to the police, an initial estimate of around 7,000 people came to an anti-right-wing demonstration in Oldenburg on Saturday. In Braunschweig, the police counted around 15,000 participants.
North Rhine-Westphalia
According to police and organizers, an estimated 30,000 people came together at a rally in Dortmund. In Recklinghausen the police spoke of an estimated 12,000 people – in Wuppertal there were up to 10,000. There were further demos in Aachen, Bottrop and Gladbeck – according to the authorities, there were large crowds and several thousand participants.
According to organizers, around 70,000 people came together in Cologne on Sunday – the police did not contradict this number. The rally entitled “Protect Democracy, Fight AfD” was also supported by the bands Kasalla, Höhner, Cat Ballou, Bläck Föös, Paveier and Brings. The bands wrote on their fan pages in advance: “We hope that we are all loud. And it becomes clear: this far and no further.”
Rhineland-Palatinate
Around ten times as many people as expected gathered in Koblenz on Saturday. According to the police, around 5,000 participants demonstrated under the motto “For Democracy – Against Fascism”. The organizers spoke of 6,000 to 7,000 people. Previously, 500 to 600 participants were expected.
Saarland
In Saarbrücken, police estimated the number of demonstrators on Sunday at around 13,000 – more than twice as many as last week. According to the state capital, two private individuals registered the meeting under the motto “Against fascism, populism and the right.”
Saxony
According to police, several thousand people demonstrated in Dresden on Sunday. In Görlitz the police spoke of more than 1,000 people. Found in Leipzig MDR-Reporters said up to 30,000 people gathered to protest in the city center.
Saxony-Anhalt
According to the police, around 1,800 demonstrators in Magdeburg positioned themselves against extremism and for diversity and cosmopolitanism with a colorful program on Saturday – in Halle there were around 16,000. According to the police, the “Halle Against Right” alliance originally registered 1,000 demonstrators.
Schleswig-Holstein
According to police reports, around 10,000 people were out and about in Flensburg on Sunday afternoon to show solidarity. According to police reports, around 2,000 people took part in an anti-right-wing demonstration in Lübeck on Saturday.
According to the organizer, 1,500 people came together at a demo in Henstedt-Ulzburg. According to the police, around 600 people demonstrated on Sylt – the organizer spoke of 1,000 participants. Posters read, among other things: “Colourful is much more beautiful than brown” and “Remigrate to your knees”.
Thuringia
In Erfurt, the police spoke of 9,000 participants on Saturday – the organizers put the number of participants at more than 10,000. Participants held up banners with slogans such as “Never again fascism”, “Social policy instead of nationalism”, “For a society based on solidarity! Against Nazis and racists” and “Stop the AfD”. Following the rally, according to police, a demonstration procession about 1.5 kilometers long marched through Erfurt.