Germany: Hundreds of thousands of people against right-wing extremism

2025-02-09 08:55:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Rallies against right-wing extremism and cooperation with the AfD were held in many cities in Germany on Saturday (08.02.). In Munich, demonstrations took place under the slogan "Democracy needs you". According to police information, around 250,000 people gathered. Organizers spoke of more than 320,000.

Organizers of the "Munich is Colorful" initiative said they wanted to send "a strong signal for diversity, human dignity, cohesion and democracy" ahead of parliamentary elections on February 23. They also wanted to send a warning that "hatred, exclusion and right-wing extremist groups are becoming a threat to democracy."

Germany: Hundreds of thousands of people against right-wing extremism

Defense Minister Pistorius at a demonstration in Hanover

Tens of thousands of people also took to the streets in Hanover. According to police data, 24,000 people took part in the demonstration. According to NDR, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also spoke at the rally on the Opera Square, Opernplatz. The SPD politician described the developments in the Bundestag last week as a violation of taboos and called on people to stand up for democracy every day. "The door to the far right must remain closed," said Pistorius. Last week, two motions from the Union were passed in the Bundestag for the first time with the help of the AfD. However, a bill to tighten migration policy failed.

Germany: Hundreds of thousands of people against right-wing extremism

Protest in Leipzig against the holding of an AfD event

In Leipzig, according to MDR, around 1,000 people demonstrated against an AfD election event. There were no incidents, however, the police stopped attempts to block access to the event. AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla was scheduled to speak at the AfD event. In Rostock, around 3,000 people also took to the streets for democracy and against right-wing extremism. Under the slogan "All against fascism - Rostock stands together!" people marched through the city center.

Around 35,000 demonstrators in Bremen

In Bremen, police counted around 35,000 participants at a meeting against right-wing extremism in the Domshof. As Radio Bremen reported, the demonstration was originally supposed to take place on the city's market square, but the space was too small. In Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, a total of around 25,000 people demonstrated in several cities against a shift to the right. As reported by the police. Demonstrations also took place in Wuppertal, Aachen and Duisburg./ DW