More than 240,000 people marched against the rapid rise of far-right political parties and extremist groups in Berlin on 13 October. The protestors travelled from all over Germany to demand increased solidarity with migrants and marginalised groups. The group called for solidarity in the face of growing far-right populism and racism that has been spreading across Germany.
The protest was organised and joined by a number of groups including trade unions, NGOs, political parties, rights groups, schools and theatres. Organisers are said to have only expected 40,000 people attending. Everyone marched under the slogan: “Solidarity not marginalisation.” The hashtag #unteilbar meaning “indivisible” is the name of one of the main organising movements and was also used by supporters and protestors.
Marchers carried banners with slogans including “Build bridges not walls”, “United against racism” and “We are indivisible – for an open and free society”. Reports from the field says that protestors were there, ‘defending human rights and tolerance, particularly of migrants.’
One protestor according to a BBC report said: “There are so many people who believe they can abuse human rights and questions of equality and so on, and it’s time to say no, there are other people who just want to be open and open-minded.”
Prior to the protest, a declaration was signed by 10,000 organisations and individuals, the declaration read:
“Millions suffer the impact of an underinvestment in basic care, healthcare, childcare and education.”
Elections
The protests were held on the eve of the local elections for the German state of Bavaria. The results demonstrated that Angela Merkel’s current coalition government to be ‘more fragile than ever.’ The Christian Social Union party took the majority of votes with 36 per cent of the vote, but this was a dramatic reduction from their usual 46.5 per cent share in the last election. The AfD, the far-right party took 10.3 per cent of votes putting it in fourth place, but marking a sharp rise in anti-immigration and Eurosceptic views amongst people in Germany.
The rise of the right wing has expanded beyond the expectations of many in Germany. The summer saw violence break out and attacks on migrants. The most notable case took place in Chemnitz, a city on the eastern side of Germany, where a 23-year-old Syrian man and a 22-year old Iraqi were accused of stabbing a German man. AfD supporters started a protest that quickly escalated into violent riots of up to 6,000 people on the streets of Chemnitz.
Rise of the far-right
Germany’s policy on refugees has been one of the most welcoming in Europe, and in spite of immigration levels actually falling, the arrival of more than a million migrants seems to have stirred social tensions, and as a result a growth in support for the far-right.
The AfD party – Alternative für Deutschland – was founded in 2013, missing their election to a seat in the German parliament by only 5%. The growth of this party marks the quick development of the party from being a populist movement, to becoming officiated in the form of a political party – the AfD. The party have been heavily criticised for a number of moves, the most recent being an attempt to use child recruits to act as informants for teachers. AfD set up a website called “Neutral Schools Online” claiming that it is a tool to ‘prevent indoctrination in classrooms and protect freedom of speech’. But critics such as Katarina Barley, Germany’s justice minister say the move is, “a method of dictators” and warned that it would cultivate a culture of unease and suspicion.
IOHR has campaigned on counter-extremism and most recently organised a conference held at the University of Rostock. The conference looked at the role women play in extremist groups across the political and religious spectrum.
At the conference held on 25 September this year, an expert in the role of women in right-wing extremist groups, Dr. Steffi Brüning, said that women play an important role in right-wing extremist groups, and that “up to 33% of right-wing extremists are women.”
Rostock itself has had a regrettable history of extremist violence. In 1992 violence erupted in the city for two days in August when mobs attacked refugees at a shelter in the Lichtenhagen area of Rostock. People still remember these riots as an example of shocking right-wing violence in Germany.