Demonstrations against right-wing extremism again: hundreds of thousands of participants are expected

Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against right-wing extremism across Germany this weekend. About 150 rallies were planned in almost all federal states. Parties, unions, civil society organizations and the church called for marches.

The largest demonstration took place on Saturday in Dusseldorf. According to the police, about 100,000 people took to the streets there. About 30,000 demonstrators joined the protests in Hamburg and 12,000 people in Aachen.

About 15,000 people came to Kiel and more than 12,000 to Marburg. In Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, 25,000 people responded to the call of a broad coalition of about 40 organizations. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned during the demonstration that democracy in Germany was under pressure. The Alternative for Germany party believes it represents the majority. But we are more,” said Pistorius, who was also the mayor of Osnabrück.

Numerous marches also took place in Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia. Just last weekend, Germany witnessed the largest demonstrations in decades with nearly a million participants.

Concurrent Holocaust Remembrance Day

In many places, demonstrations on Saturday are also part of Holocaust Memorial Day activities. The victims of National Socialism are commemorated every year around the world. The federal government's anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, called for new forms of Holocaust commemoration. This is necessary in order to emotionally appeal to the general population and especially the younger generation, he told Funke Media Group. There are only a few Holocaust survivors left who can personally bear witness to and report the crimes of the Holocaust.

Chancellor Olaf Schulz called in his speech Weekly video “Counselor's Charter” To fight anti-Semitism and racism. “It won't happen every day again,” the Social Democrat said. He again acknowledged the protests of hundreds of thousands of people against right-wing extremism in recent weeks. “Our country is currently standing on its feet. Millions of citizens take to the streets – for democracy, respect and humanity.

The protesters feel exploited

It is worth recognizing that many people not only watch, but also show their colors against right-wing extremism. However, many rally participants increasingly feel excluded and exploited by their democratic concerns. The reason for this is the organizers of many of the demonstrations, which also include the “Fridays for Future” movement or left-wing activists.

Communications expert Frank Bretschneider warned at Südwestrundfunk that the protests could be used for other political purposes. The alliances are currently very, very broad. The scientist from the University of Hohenheim said that alliances come under pressure when one group begins to want to control other groups.

A member of the Federal Executive Council of the Christian Democratic Union Party, Serap Guler, said in the newspaper “Tagesspiegel” that “the broad coalition against right-wing extremism must now not be divided by the left.” Güler himself spoke at a rally in Cologne and, like other Christian Democrats, called for linguistic differentiation. She explained that the demonstrations were not directed against the right, but rather against right-wing extremism.

There was a lot of criticism of the organizers of last weekend's large demonstration in Munich in which some 200,000 participants took part. Many protesters felt uncomfortable and exploited, they wrote on social media. Rally participants were asked from the stage to “show the middle finger to the traffic light.” The leader of the meeting had previously declared that Christian social politicians were undesirable. Organizers also include Antifa Munich and Fridays for Future.

Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich later wrote on Facebook: “Anyone who attacks the Union and even ‘Traffic Light’ at the same time as the AfD for right-wing politics does not speak for the majority of people who came today.” In other cities as well, speakers raising far-left slogans and hate slogans against the AfD attracted attention during the demonstrations.