01/28/2024 – 15:32
In the biggest event, in Hamburg, more than 60 thousand people took to the streets, according to the police. For the third weekend in a row, tens of thousands of Germans returned to the streets this Sunday (28/01) to protest against the ultra-right. On Saturday, the country had already been the scene of protests in at least 30 cities. In the largest of them, in Düsseldorf, capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police reported that around 100,000 people participated.
The biggest protest this Sunday took place in Hamburg, bringing together, according to the police, 60 thousand people – organizers are talking about 100 thousand participants.
In the northern German city, the events were called by an alliance around the Fridays for Future movement, under the slogan “For diversity and our democracy – Hamburg is united against the AfD”.
The event featured a speech by climate activist Luisa Neubauer. Last week, a large demonstration in the Hanseatic city was dispersed by police after gathering many more people than expected.
The wave of demonstrations comes after the revelation of a meeting held in Potsdam with the participation of neo-Nazis and members of the AfD in which a plan for the mass deportation of millions of immigrants and “unassimilated citizens” was presented.
Events across Germany
In addition to Hamburg, Sunday saw protests in several German cities, such as Schleswig, Nortorf and Neumünster, in the north, Boppard, Gerolstein and Ahrweiler, in the west, and Schongau, Bad Tölz and Ebersberg, in the south. In Bremerhaven, in the north, organizers spoke of more than 4,000 participants and “one of the biggest demonstrations against fascism in the city since 1945”.
In the east, there were protests in Rangsdorf, Hoyerswerda, Finsterwalde, Demmin and Neustrelitz, among others.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, last weekend, more than 900,000 people across the country participated in demonstrations against the ultra-right. The numbers were based on police information.
Why are Germans protesting?
The wave of protests was triggered by a report published on January 10 by the investigative journalism outlet Correctiv, which revealed that AfD members met with right-wing extremists in Potsdam in November to discuss the expulsion of immigrants and “unassimilated citizens.” .
Meeting participants discussed “remigration,” a term often used in far-right circles as a euphemism for the expulsion of immigrants and minorities.
News of the meeting shocked many in Germany at a time when the AfD is riding high in opinion polls. This year there will be three important state elections in eastern Germany, where the party's support is strongest and the party has a chance of electing its first governor.
In a video released this Saturday regarding the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the protests that have been taking place against the extreme right and “for democracy, respect and humanity”.
Recalling the defeat of Nazism, Scholz stated: “'Never again' requires all of us to be vigilant. Our democracy is not given by God. It is made by men.”
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