Against right-wing extremism: Hundreds of thousands of people again at demos

Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people in Germany responded to calls for protests against right-wing extremism. The largest rally took place on Saturday in Berlin under the motto “We are the firewall”: the police said there were 150,000 participants, the organizers said 300,000. There were also larger rallies in Dresden, Freiburg, Augsburg, Nuremberg and Saarbrücken. People also took to the streets in many smaller cities and towns.

The influx of demonstrators in Berlin was so large that the police had to temporarily close the rally site in front of the Reichstag building to newly arriving participants. In order to accommodate the large number of people, several alternative areas were opened in the city center.

Human chain against right-wing extremism

Hundreds of people held hands and formed a human chain in front of the Reichstag building to symbolically protect it from attacks from the right. The demonstrators in Tiergarten and the government district chanted “All together against fascism” and “All of Berlin is stopping the AfD” in the drizzle. Slogans like “No room for racism” could be read on posters. Many of the chants and posters were specifically directed against the AfD and its representatives.

A broad alliance of hundreds of associations, initiatives and institutions called for the rally. The event was directed against right-wing extremism and was called for “to defend an open and democratic society”.

Political parties were not among the organizers, although many politicians took part in the rally. SPD leader Saskia Esken and Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) appeared together with a poster with the inscription: “Show the red card to Nazis”. Green Party leader Ricarda Lang and Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) were seen with a poster with the slogan “Better solidarity instead of solid Aryan”.

The Berlin police said they had 700 officers on duty. The Bundestag subway station was temporarily closed, there were huge crowds at other subway and S-Bahn stations in the city center, and some of the trains were completely overcrowded.

More than a hundred rallies

More than a hundred rallies took place nationwide. According to the respective police departments, the number of participants was 30,000 in Freiburg, 25,000 in Nuremberg, 24,000 in Augsburg and 10,000 in Saarbrücken. There were also demonstrations in small towns. In Greiz, Thuringia, for example, Nazis tried to disrupt a rally of around 800 people, as Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left), who was there himself, wrote on X. However, the disruptors were “heavily outnumbered”.

On X, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of a “strong signal for democracy and our Basic Law.” He continued: “Whether in Eisenach, Homburg or Berlin: In small and large cities across the country, many citizens come together to demonstrate against forgetting, against hatred and incitement.”

CSU leader Markus Söder described the AfD to the “Rheinische Post” as a “deeply right-wing extremist party”. He added: “It really shakes me every time I hear these hateful speeches.” Green Party leader Ricarda Lang wrote on X: “The AfD lives by the myth that it represents a silent majority. But now the majority is standing up.”

The AfD interpreted the rally events differently. She spoke on X of a “transparent smear campaign against Germany’s only real opposition party.” In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, party leader Tino Chrupalla viewed the protests as a diversionary tactic by the government. People should not allow themselves to be abused by state institutions.

Values ​​Union leader Hans-Georg Maaßen made a similar statement about the demonstrators on

The “Together Hand in Hand” action alliance includes, among others, social and environmental associations, trade unions, migrant initiatives, human rights organizations and church institutions. The organizers were satisfied with the large mobilization. “The protests have put the AfD on the defensive,” said Christoph Bautz, managing director of the campaign network Campact. “Now the AfD is already collapsing in the election polls.”