Berlin (dpa) – More than 150,000 people gathered in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin on Saturday, according to the police. They were demonstrating for democracy and tolerance, and against right-wing extremism and hatred. Known as the Bundestag, the German parliament has been housed in the converted historic Reichstag building since 1999 and is a central symbol of German democracy. Once again, unusually large numbers of people likewise took to the streets in many other German cities on Saturday. Demonstrations will also be taking place all over Germany on Sunday.
The protests were sparked, among other things, by information revealed by the Correctiv research centre about a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam in November 2023. The former head of the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, had by his own account talked at the meeting of “remigration”. When right-wing extremists use this term, they generally mean that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave – or even be forced to leave – the country.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already described the numerous anti-far right demonstrations that were planned for this weekend as a “strong sign” in favour of democracy and Germany’s constitution.
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