In several cities: Thousands demonstrate against right-wing extremism

In several German cities, thousands of people took to the streets against right-wing extremism and the AfD on Monday evening. According to the police, around 5,000 people demonstrated in Paderborn, East Westphalia, under the motto “Put the AfD on ice” against an AfD event that took place in the city center that evening. The “Alliance Against Right” and the “Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance” called for the event. Some streets in the city center had to be closed.

According to the police, 5,500 people took to the streets in Hamm on Monday evening under the motto “Colorful instead of brown, together against racism”. The Alevi communities in Hamm called for the demonstration in the city center. A police spokesman spoke of it being by far the largest demonstration that had taken place in the city in recent years. More than 3,000 people gathered in Soest.

In Weimar, Thuringia, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left Party) took part in a rally. According to the police, it was peaceful. The organizers had announced 1,000 participants. According to the police, there were several anti-right gatherings in Thuringia in the evening.

Call from the mayor

In Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, people also marched under the motto “Loud against the right! Never again fascism!” on the street. An alliance of parties and civil society called for people to show their colors. Greifswald’s mayor Stefan Fassbinder (Greens) had previously supported the call and called on citizens to show a stance for humanity, democracy and diversity. “We must defend our free, democratic and diverse society, and this also applies to our city of Greifswald.”

Across Germany, hundreds of thousands took to the streets at the weekend to demonstrate against the right. “According to what the police counted nationwide, around 910,600 people took part in the demonstrations against right-wing extremism over the weekend,” said Federal Interior Ministry spokesman Maximilian Kall on Monday in Berlin.

Accordingly, a total of around 360,000 people were out and about on Saturday. According to information, around 550,000 demonstrators took to the streets on Sunday. The demonstrations are also a signal to all people with a migrant background living in Germany “that they clearly belong,” said the ministry spokesman. In Munich, the protest had to be canceled on Sunday because there were too many people.

The protests were triggered by revelations from the Correctiv research center about a meeting of right-wing extremists on November 25th, in which some AfD politicians as well as individual members of the CDU and the very conservative Values ​​Union took part in Potsdam. The former head of the right-wing extremist Identitarian Movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, said he spoke about “remigration” at the meeting. 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.