Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hamburg on Friday for a demonstration against right-wing extremists. Organizers said the protests ended early because the large crowds raised security concerns
January 19, 2024, 1:30 p.m. ET
• 2 min reading
BERLIN – Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hamburg on Friday for a demonstration against the far right. Organizers said the protests ended early because the crowds raised security concerns.
The event in Germany's second-largest city appeared to be the largest yet in a series of protests that have grown over the past week. They follow a report that extremists recently met to discuss deporting millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship.
The media company Correctiv reported last week on the alleged right-wing extremist meeting in November, which was allegedly attended by representatives of the extremist Identitarian Movement and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). A prominent member of the Identitarian Movement, Austrian citizen Martin Sellner, presented his “remigration” vision for deportations.
Some demonstrations in cities across Germany, including one in Cologne on Tuesday, have already attracted far more participants than initially expected.
In Hamburg, police said about 50,000 people gathered on a lakeside promenade on Friday afternoon, while organizers put the number at 80,000 and said many people could not squeeze into the venue, German news agency dpa reported.
Kazim Abaci of Entrepreneurs Without Borders, a group that was one of the organizers, said that “we have to end the demonstration early,” citing security concerns and saying that firefighters were unable to get through the crowd.
“The message to the AfD and its right-wing networks is: We are the majority and we are strong because we are united and determined not to let our country and our democracy be destroyed a second time after 1945.” The defeat of Nazi Germany said Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher to the crowd.
The AfD distanced itself from the extremist meeting on the grounds that it had no organizational or financial connection to the event, that it was not responsible for the topics discussed there and that the participants only did so for personal reasons. Nevertheless, one of the AfD leaders separated from an advisor who was present and at the same time denounced the reporting itself.
According to nationwide polls, the AfD is currently in second place behind the largest center-right opposition bloc and ahead of the parties in the unpopular government.
Further demonstrations against right-wing extremists are planned in German cities this weekend.