Thousands of German citizens demonstrated today (Saturday) in Berlin as part of the widespread protests against "Alternative Germany" in particular and the extreme right in general. Additional demonstrations are taking place in Dresden, Hanover and other cities, in a protest that continues for the fourth weekend in a row.
Thousands of demonstrators in Berlin against the extreme right
Reuters
The demonstrators in Berlin and other cities carry signs condemning the "alternative" and chanted slogans against the neo-Nazis.
"In Eisenach, Homburg or Berlin: in small and large cities throughout the country, many citizens are gathering to demonstrate together against forgetting and hatred," Chancellor Olaf Schulz wrote on the X social network. "This is a strong signal for democracy and our constitution."
Whether in Eisenach, Homburg or Berlin: In kleinen und großen Städten im ganzen Land kommen viele Bürgerinnen und Bürger zusammen, um gegen das Vergessen, gegen Hass und Hetze zu demonstrieren - auch an diesem Weekenden.
Ein starkes Zeichen für die Demokratie und unser Grundgesetz.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) February 3, 2024
"Under no circumstances should stories from the 1930s be allowed to repeat themselves," Younes Schmidt, who arrived at the demonstration in Berlin from Bremen, told IP.
"We must do everything to prevent this and that is why I am here."
Kathryn Zauter, who participated in the demonstration, said she was "very encouraged."
"These mirrors are encouraging because they see that we are fighting," she said.
According to the Berlin police, 150,000 people participated in the demonstration - far beyond expectations, which forced the police to expand the area for the demonstration.
Demonstrators in Berlin, today (Saturday), photo: I.P.I
The protests erupted last month, after a journalistic investigation revealed that two senior members of Alternative for Germany participated in a secret meeting in a hotel in Potsdam, where a plan to deport millions of immigrants and citizens from an immigration background was discussed.
"Alternative" claimed that the program under discussion did not reflect the party's policy, and the party's co-chairman, Alice Weidel, fired her advisor Roland Hartwig who participated in the meeting, but from the point of view of the populist right it was too late - and the fear of most German citizens about undermining the constitution burst into the streets.
The demonstration in front of the Reichstag.
The police had to expand the area allowed for the demonstration, photo: Reuters
The protests come at a rather bad time for "Alternative", which has been gaining popularity in the polls and has already reached second place, much to the concern of the old parties.
However, last week saw a decline in the populist party's popularity: for the first time since July, its support rate fell below 20%.
It is still far from the conservative Christian Democratic Party (32%), but above the Social Democrats of the incumbent Chancellor Schulz (15%).
"I was shocked that it took so long to ignite mass demonstrations against the extreme right, given that the 'alternative' was successful in small communities, but now it's really an outbreak," Jakob Springfeld, an anti-Nazi activist from Saxony, told Reuters.
The deputy speaker of the Bundestag, Catherine Göring-Eckerdt, said in an interview with FAZ that the agitation against the extreme right has been brewing for a long time. "In recent months, many people have asked themselves: when is the moment when something needs to be done, and if so - what exactly?
The demonstrations throughout the entire republic show that this moment has arrived.
It is the urge to protect a life of freedom.
People do not agree to question our free democratic order.
Right now we are at a point where everything has come together, socially and historically."
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