2024 German anti-extremism protests
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (January 2024) |
| 2024 German anti-extremism protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Protests in Stuttgart, 20 January | |||
| Date | 13 January 2024 – present | ||
| Location | Germany | ||
| Caused by | Meeting of right-wing extremists at Potsdam in 2023 | ||
| Goals |
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| Methods | Political demonstration, nonviolent resistance | ||
| Status | Ongoing | ||
| Parties | |||
| Lead figures | |||
Decentralised leadership | |||
| Number | |||
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Since mid-January 2024, widespread protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have been taking place in Germany, after a report by investigative journalist group Correctiv revealed the presence of in-office party members at the meeting of right-wing extremists at Potsdam in 2023, centered on "remigration" proposals to organise mass deportations of foreign-born Germans, including those with German citizenship. Protesters have sought to defend the German democracy from the AfD, with many protesters calling for the party to be investigated by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or banned altogether.
Background
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was established in 2013 as a right-wing eurosceptic splinter from the Christian Democratic Union. It began gaining political power following the 2015 European migrant crisis, in which around one million migrants fleeing military conflicts during the Arab Winter were resettled in Germany. The AfD first entered the Bundestag in the 2017 German federal election, becoming the third-largest party behind the CDU and Social Democratic Party (SPD). Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the AfD has begun to gain popularity, owing to the global energy crisis and cost inflation caused by the invasion.[1] By July 2023, the AfD was polling as the second-most popular political party in Germany at 20%, behind only the CDU. The same year, it also elected two officials for the first time in its history.[2]
On 10 January 2024, investigative journalist group Correctiv published information revealing that members of the AfD had met several neo-Nazi and Identitarian movement activists in the city of Potsdam, where plans to "remigrate" foreign-born Germans, including non-citizens as well as those with German citizenship, were proposed. The report gained massive traction in Germany, with critical comparisons being made to the 1940 Madagascar Plan to deport four million Jews and the 1942 Wannsee Conference, at which the Final Solution was organised. AfD leader Alice Weidel defended the party, saying that she had removed those involved in the meeting, and lambasted Correctiv journalists as "left-wing activists using Stasi methods".[3] Two members of the conservative Values Union, a faction of the CDU, also attended the event, and following backlash, the group's leader Hans-Georg Maaßen announced the movement was severing its ties with the CDU.[4]
Protests
On 13 January 2024, the first protests against the AfD were held in the city of Duisburg in western Germany. These were followed the next day with thousands protesting in Potsdam and at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Among those present at the protests in Potsdam on 14 January were Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, both members of the Bundestag from the city. Interviewed by Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Baerbock said that the protesters were "for democracy and against old and new fascism," while Potsdam mayor Mike Schubert said that the remigration plans "are reminiscent of the darkest chapter of German history."[5]
Protests continued to draw larger crowds throughout the week, including a protest in Cologne, in which around 30,000 people participated. Non-AfD politicians from across Germany's political spectrum expressed support for the protests; Scholz wrote on Twitter that "We won't allow anyone to distinguish the 'we' in our country based on whether someone has an immigration history or not," pro-business Free Democratic Party politician Christian Dürr directly compared the AfD to the Nazi Party,[1] Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck from the Green Party described the protests as "impressive" for democracy,[6] and CDU leader Friedrich Merz said it was "very encouraging that thousands of people are demonstrating peacefully against right-wing extremism."[4]
Various churches throughout Germany called on people to protest the AfD, as did coaches of the Bundesliga.[4] Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, described the protests as restoring Jews' faith in German democracy, which had been damaged following antisemitism during the Israel–Hamas war.[7] The AfD was also condemned by several businesses, including Siemens,[6] Evonik Industries, Infineon Technologies, and Düsseldorf Airport.[8] The size of the protests exceeded expectations by both police and the organizers, with 50,000–80,000 people protesting in Hamburg. Hamburg's mayor, Peter Tschentscher, spoke against the AfD at the protests, saying "We are the majority and we are strong, because we are united and we are determined not to let our country and our democracy be destroyed for a second time after 1945."[9]
Between 19 and 21 January, protests reached a size of 1.4 million people, according to organizers Campact and Fridays for Future. As a result of the protests, a planned march in Munich was cancelled for safety concerns, as 100,000 people, four times the expected amount, came to the planned demonstration. Members of the German government urged protests to continue, with Scholz urging as many people as possible to come out for democracy.[7]
As part of the protests, various proposals to ban the AfD have been advocated, including from 25 members of the Bundestag from the SPD.[3] Among those calling for the AfD to be banned is Saskia Esken, co-leader of the SPD. These proposals have been pushed back upon by others, notably Habeck and Merz, who have expressed concerns about the potential risks such a move could pose if unsuccessful.[10] Some of Habeck's comments, however, have been publicly interpreted as expressing support for a ban as protests escalated, saying that the AfD intended to replace German democracy with a system similar to Russia under Vladimir Putin. Others, such as constitutional scholar Horst Meier, have argued that a ban, while possible, would be ill-advised as a result of the AfD's popularity. The AfD would be only the third such party banned nationally, after the Socialist Reich Party and the Communist Party of Germany, both of which were banned during the 1950s, though its branches in the states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia have been declared as extremist. Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser has expressed support for a ban on the party, but only as a last resort.[3]
References
- ^ a b Connolly, Kate (19 January 2024). "Turmoil in Germany over neo-Nazi mass deportation meeting – explained". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Kinkartz, Sabine (7 July 2023). "Far-right AfD emerges as Germany's second strongest party". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Parker, Jessica (20 January 2024). "AfD: Germans float ban on elected far-right party after scandal". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "More than 100,000 protest across Germany over far-right AfD's mass deportation meetings". The Guardian. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Demonstrations against the far right held in Germany following a report on a deportation meeting". The Hill. Associated Press. 14 January 2024. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b Farr, Emma-Victoria; Hansen, Holger (21 January 2024). "Hundreds of thousands demonstrate against right-wing extremism in Germany". Reuters. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Hundreds of thousands rally in Germany against far-right deportation plans". Agence France-Presse. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Marsh, Sarah; Ersen, Hakan (17 January 2024). "German CEOs warn of far-right threat to economy". Reuters. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Tens of thousands pack into a protest in Hamburg against Germany's far right". Associated Press. 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Angelos, James (12 January 2024). "Germany's far-right AfD is soaring. Can a ban stop it?". Politico. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.