Protests against the far-right erupt in Germany: 'Uprising of Decent People'
A new immigration law supported by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and centrist parties has sparked backlash in Germany. Approximately 200,000 people took part in a protest march in Berlin to oppose the legislation targeting immigrants.
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The legislative proposal submitted to parliament by the AfD, which envisions the implementation of strict immigration policies and the 'facilitation' of deportation procedures, was supported by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) parties. Following the support of the far-right by centrist parties, a protest march attended by 200,000 people was held in the capital, Berlin. Demonstrations also took place in various other cities across the country.
Protesters in Berlin marched from the Brandenburg Gate to the CDU headquarters to express their reaction to the cooperation between the CDU and the AfD. In addition to the 200,000 protesters gathered in Berlin, 15,000 people in Saarbrücken and 14,000 in Kiel also demonstrated against the CDU/CSU.
'Uprising of Decent People - We Are the Firewall' was the slogan of the demonstration, and participants expressed their reactions on the banners they carried. Some banners featured the slogan '5 to 1933'. This slogan was used to refer to the times when the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler consolidated their power before Germany transitioned into the National Socialist era.
REACTION TO FRIEDRICH MERZ
Banners calling for voters not to support CDU/CSU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz carried messages such as "No to Merz in February," "Better to be without Merz than to be heartless," and "Stop Merz." At the CDU party headquarters, protesters waved their mobile phone lights and booed chancellor candidate Merz.
Michel Friedman, who resigned from the CDU on the grounds that it cooperated with the AfD, criticized the party's stance in a speech he gave during the protest. Friedman described the AfD as a 'party of hate' and a 'party that does not stand on the foundation of democracy.'
Holocaust survivor Albrecht Weinberg and photographer Luigi Toscano decided to return their Federal Cross of Merit medals to protest the stance of the CDU/CSU.
CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz