BERLIN
\nTens of thousands of people attended rallies across Germany against the far-right AfD party on Saturday, the latest wave of such protests over the past three weeks. Nearly 150,000 people turned out in Berlin according to police, some forming a human chain in front of parliament. Organizers put the figure at 300,000.
\nSimilar protests took place in around 200 other cities. The wave of mobilization against Alternative for Germany (AfD) was sparked by a January 10 report by investigative outlet Correctiv revealing that AfD members had discussed the expulsion of immigrants and \u201cnon-assimilated citizens\u201d at a meeting with extremists.
\nThe report sent shock waves across Germany at a time when the AfD is soaring in opinion polls, months ahead of three major regional elections in eastern Germany where their support is strongest. \u201cAll together against racism,\u201d the crowd in Berlin shouted. Some held posters that said \u201cHeart instead of hate\u201d or \u201cRacism is not an alternative.\u201d
\nMany people hoping to attend the Berlin rally found the site already packed, and were directed to a nearby park or the riverbanks along the Spree River, AFP journalists saw. \u201cI don\u2019t know if these demonstrations will influence AfD voters,\u201d Margret Hurth, a 53-year-old childcare worker, told AFP.
\n\u201cBut it\u2019s important to send a signal, because we need more humanity and respect for our differences.\u201d
\n\u201cI came to set an example,\u201d said Martin Raue, a university professor who had come from Sweden to attend the rally. \u201cI was born in Germany.\u201d
\nThe Berlin rally was organized by the \u201cHand in Hand\u201d collective, which is made up of 1,800 organizations, including the Fridays for Future climate group. Around 700 police were deployed for the rally, which ended without incident late in the afternoon.
\nA similar human chain was also formed around the state assembly building in Potsdam, just southeast of Berlin.
\nGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the demonstrations in a post early Saturday on X, formerly Twitter.
\n\u201cIn small and large cities across the country, numerous citizens are gathering to demonstrate again this weekend against forgetting, against hate and inciting hate.
\nA strong sign for our democracy and our constitution,\u201d he wrote.
\nMarkus Soeder, the powerful leader of the conservative CSU party in the opposition, denounced the AfD as \u201ca deeply far-right party\u201d in comments to the Rheinische Post newspaper.
\n\u201cI\u2019m literally shocked each time I hear their hateful speeches,\u201d he added.
\nThe AfD, an anti-immigration party, confirmed the presence of its members at a November meeting with Martin Sellner, a leader of Austria\u2019s white pride Identitarian Movement.
\nBut it has denied taking on the \u201cremigration\u201d project championed by Sellner and his movement, which subscribes to the \u201cgreat replacement\u201d conspiracy theory that claims there is a plot to replace Europe\u2019s \u201cnative\u201d white population with non-white migrants.
\nThe party has more than 30 percent support in some parts of the former East Germany, where regional elections are due to be held later this year.
\nThe AfD denounced \u201ca campaign against the only true opposition party in Germany,\u201d in a post on X Saturday.
\n\u201cWhere are we in Germany when a government calls for a demonstration against part of its population?\u201d it asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN Tens of thousands of people attended rallies across Germany against the far-right AfD party on Saturday, the latest wave of such protests over the past three weeks. Nearly 150,000 people turned out in Berlin according to police, some forming a human chain in front of parliament. Organizers put the figure at 300,000. Similar protests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-385316","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n