Thousands of Germans flock to streets to decry far right deportation plan
Planned march cancelled due to influx of demonstrators
Tens of thousands gathered across Germany again yesterday to protest the farright AfD, after it emerged that party members discussed mass deportation plans at a meeting of extremists.
The influx of demonstrators was so large in Munich that organisers were forced to cancel a planned march and ask people to disperse for safety reasons.
Huge turnout
Organisers said some 50,000 people had turned up to the demonstration, twice as many as were registered for the event.
An earlier estimate announced to the crowd had put the figure at 200,000, according to an AFP journalist.
Police estimated a figure somewhere in the middle, around 100,000, according to the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
‘Nazis out’
Those who made it to the site of the planned protest carried signs saying “Nazis out” and “never again is now”.
Some 250,000 people had already gathered in cities across the country on Saturday, according to ARD estimates.
Demonstrations were called in some 100 locations across Germany from Friday through the weekend, including in Munich, Berlin and cities in the east of the country where the AfD has its strongholds. The demonstrations came in the wake of a report that right-wing extremists recently met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship. Some members of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, were present at the meeting. The wave of mobilisation against the far-right party was sparked by a January 10 report by investigative outlet Correctiv, which revealed that AfD members had discussed the expulsion of immigrants and “non-assimilated citizens” at a meeting with extremists.
Sending shockwaves
Among the participants at the talks was Martin Sellner, a leader of Austria’s Identitarian Movement, which subscribes to the “great replacement” conspiracy theory that claims there is a plot by non-white migrants to replace Europe’s “native” white population.
News of the gathering sent shock waves across Germany at a time when the AfD is soaring in opinion polls, just months ahead of three major regional elections in eastern Germany where their support is strongest.
The anti-immigration party confirmed the presence of its members at the meeting, but has denied taking on the “remigration” project championed by Sellner.
In Cologne, organisers estimated 70,000 people had joined a protest in the city on Sunday, while in Bremen, local police said 45,000 people had turned out in the centre. Politicians, as well as church leaders and Bundesliga football managers have called on people to make a stand against the far right.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who joined a demonstration last weekend, said any plan to expel immigrants or citizens alike amounted to “an attack against our democracy, and in turn, on all of us”.