More than 100,000 people demonstrated nationwide this Saturday, January 20, 2024, against the right-wing extremist AfD, whose members recently discussed the mass expulsion of foreigners at an extremist rally.
Around 35,000 people gathered in Frankfurt, the stronghold of the German financial world, behind a banner “Defend Democracy – Frankfurt against the AfD”.
A similar number of demonstrators gathered in Hanover (north), some holding “Nazis out” signs.
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Hundred events
Protests have been reported in Braunschweig, Erfurt, Kassel and many other smaller cities, reflecting the daily mobilizations this week.
In total, calls for demonstrations were launched in around a hundred places from Friday to Sunday evening, including in Berlin on Sunday.
Politicians, religious leaders and Bundesliga coaches have called on the population to mobilize against the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The movement was triggered by the German investigative media Correctiv's revelation on January 10 about a meeting of extremists in Potsdam near Berlin, where a planned mass expulsion of people of foreign origin was initiated in November. Among the participants were a representative of the radical identity movement, the Austrian Martin Sellner, and members of the AfD.
Revelations that shake Germany
The revelation shocked Germany as the AfD soared in the polls just months before three key regional elections in the east of the country, where the party has the most supporters.
The anti-immigration movement confirmed the presence of its members at the meeting, but denied attending the “remigration” project led by Martin Sellner.
Many politicians, including Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who took part in a demonstration last weekend, emphasized that any planned expulsion of people of foreign origin represents an attack on democracy.
Olaf Scholz called “Everyone should take a stand – for cohesion, for tolerance, for our democratic Germany”.
The verdict was handed down by Friedrich Merz, chairman of the conservative CDU “Very encouraging that thousands of people are demonstrating peacefully against extremism”.
However, in addition to members of the AfD, two members of the CDU, who belonged to the right wing of the Values Union party, also took part in the meeting disclosed by Correctiv.
Values Union leader Hans-Georg Maaßen announced on Saturday that he was leaving the CDU. The group claims to have 4,000 members.