Hundreds of thousands of people protested against right-wing extremism in Germany. By Reuters
© Reuters. People wait for public transport on the afternoon of the afternoon a broad coalition demonstrated against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, right-wing extremism and to defend democracy, in Berlin, Germany, January 21, 2024. REUTERS/Sabine Siebold
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Author: Emma-Victoria Farr, Holger Hansen
FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Germany this weekend as nationwide protests against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party entered a second week.
The protests gained further momentum after the investigative news website Correctiv reported that a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam had discussed immigration policies, including mass deportations of people of foreign origin.
The AfD, which ranks second in national opinion polls, has denied the reported immigration plans are party policy.
On Sunday, rallies were held in eastern Germany, traditional AfD voting strongholds including Leipzig and Dresden, as well as Berlin, Munich and Cologne, with turnout in many places far higher than expected.
According to the police, Munich organizers ended the protest early as about 100,000 participants flocked to the event. Protest organizers said 200,000 people attended. When the event began in Berlin, 30,000 people gathered and the number was growing, police said.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Cologne and Bremen on Sunday. Event organizers estimated that about 300,000 people would protest across the country on Saturday.
“Not commenting on this is a send-off to the world that we will not let this happen,” said Steffi Kirschenmann, a Frankfurt-based social counselor who was one of tens of thousands who gathered peacefully in central Frankfurt amid sub-zero temperatures. “It’s a signal,” he said. Saturday.
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef addressed the crowd at Römerplatz, reminding protesters that this was the same site where the Nazi regime burned books.
AfD declined to comment on the protests.
Business leaders have expressed concern, and Siemens Energy Supervisory Board Chairman Joe Kaeser told Reuters the report brought back “bitter memories.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier saw the rallies across Germany against right-wing extremism as a sign of strength. “You are standing up against misanthropy and right-wing extremism. These people encourage us all,” Steinmeier said in a video message distributed Sunday.
He called for an alliance across the Democratic Party, saying, “Let’s show that we are stronger together.”
German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck told a local newspaper that he saw the protests as an encouraging sign for democracy.
“It is impressive to see so many people now taking to the streets and waving the flag for our democracy,” the Green Party politician told the Augsburger Allgemeine. The Central Council of German Jews also welcomed this protest. For Jews, this is an image that “could restore confidence in the democratic situation” in the country, Central Council Chairman Josef Schuster told Welt-TV.
Germany’s Boersen-Zeitung on Saturday issued a series of statements by companies listed on its stock market index opposing xenophobia, anti-Semitism and political extremism around the right wing.
