As AfD joins Bundestag, thousands protest racism in Berlin

October 22, 2017

On Tuesday, a far-right party will enter Germany’s parliament for the first time in nearly six decades. In an attempt to set the tone before the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) takes its seats in the Bundestag, at least 10,000 demonstrators turned out in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Sunday, holding signs reading “My Heart Beats for Diversity,” “No AfD” and — playing on calls to cap the numbers of refugees allowed into the country — “Upper Limits on Nazis.”

The official title of the event, “Against Racism and Hate in the Bundestag,” didn’t explicitly mention the far-right party, which took 12.6 percent of the vote in national elections on September 24. But initiator Ali Can made clear who the intended recipient of the demonstration’s message was when he addressed the crowd.

“I’ve read the constitution and am somewhat shocked at some of the things politicians, especially the AfD, come out with,” Can said. “Have they even read Article 3? It explicitly states that no one shall be discriminated against or treated favorably because of where he comes from.”

The AfD swept into the Bundestag on a platform focused on hostility to refugees, the assertion that Germany is being “Islamified”, and the idea that migrants are a threat to law and order.

Can called for greater mutual respect in society and for politicians to lead the way, arguing that tolerance is in everyone’s interest.

“Even AfD politicians can be the victims of prejudice,” Can told DW. “We’re coming out here against racism and hatred in general, no matter where it comes from and at whom it’s directed.”

Can knows of what he speaks. The 23-year-old himself was once a refugee.

‘Clear, rigorous opposition’

Can, whose Turkish-Kurdish family fled southeastern Turkey for Germany when he was only 2 years old, is somewhat unusual among multicultural activists. For one, he seeks dialogue with the people he opposes.

Last year, for example, Can set up a “hotline for concerned citizens” who claimed to be worried about the negative effects that they believed migrants had had on Germany. Presenting himself as a “migrant you can trust,” Can posted his phone number on the internet — an act of considerable courage during an age in which hate speech and trolling have become so common — and encouraged AfD voters and supporters of the anti-immigration PEGIDA movement to call him with their questions.

Can is an unapologetic idealist who knows how to mobilize people and attract publicity to his cause. Sunday’s demonstration was organized at a furious pace after the election and was supported by more than a dozen prominent activist groups.

The turnout won’t likely do anything to change the minds of the Bundestag’s AfD deputies. Those with more political experience than Can point out that more than noble sentiments will be needed to impose limits on the AfD’s legislators.

“If you look at the list of the parliamentarians who will be joining the Bundestag, there are unfortunately a whole series of them who’ve attracted attention in the past with right-wing extremist or racist statements,” Anton Hofreiter, the joint parliamentary leader of the Greens, told DW. “It’s important to combat them with clear, rigorous opposition.”

Demonstration against AfD in Bundestag

The protesters are anxious as the far-right party prepares to enter the Bundestag

The anti-AfD majority

Political realism did not deter Hofreiter from joining the ranks of the demonstrators who marched from the Brandenburg Gate to the Victory Column and the Reichstag, and then back to the Brandenburg Gate for a concert featuring the Berlin hip-hop and reggae band Culcha Candela.

“What we want to do today is to send a signal,” singer Johnny Strange told DW. “Some 13 percent of voters chose the AfD in the election, but there’s a large majority (who didn’t), and I think they should be seen and heard.”

The crowd that showed up on Sunday was an example of the diversity of German society. Some of the protesters had immigration backgrounds; others came out of a sense of duty stemming from the country’s Nazi past.

“I was born in Korea, but I grew up in Germany and have lived here for 40 years,” one woman said. “I want to say: ‘This is my land.’ I think in a democracy you have to fight for that.”

“I think as a German you have a responsibility to ensure that parties like the AfD never again have the final say in German politics,” a man said.

When pressed on what concrete measures they wanted German politicians to take, many of the protesters were at something of a loss. But they were clear that they do not want the Bundestag to become a forum for racist and xenophobic sentiments. And that was reason enough to take to the streets on a fine late-autumn day to vent their unease with the AfD.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Siegbert Droese

The head of the AfD in Leipzig was the center of controversy in 2016 when newspapers reported that a car in his motor pool had the license plate: “AH 1818.” “AH” are the initials of Adolf Hitler. 1 and 8, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, are considered a code for Adolf Hitler among neo-Nazi groups.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Sebastian Münzenmaier

As the AfD’s lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 28-year-old Münzenmaier cruised to a seat in the Bundestag. Münzenmaier made headlines in October when he was convicted of being an accessory to assault in a case of football hooliganism. But because that’s considered a minor offense, he is able to exercise his mandate.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Albrecht Glaser

The 75-year-old former CDU man is the AfD’s choice for Bundestag vice-president, but members of the other parties say they won’t approve his candidacy. Glaser once opined that Muslims shouldn’t enjoy freedom of religion because Islam is a political ideology. Critics reject that view as unconstitutional.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Markus Frohnmaier

Frohnmaier is the chair of the party’s youth organization, Junge Alternative. The 28-year-old wrote in August 2016 on Facebook that “our generation will suffer the most” from Merkel’s decision to “flood this country with the shoddy proletariat from Africa and the Orient.”

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Martin Reichardt

The former soldier from Lower Saxony once told a journalist that he had no problem with “Germany for the Germans,” a phrase that is often used by neo-Nazi groups. He has also collectively described the Green Party and The Left party as “constitutional enemy No. 1.”

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Wilhelm von Gottberg

The 77-year-old from Brandenburg was vice president of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) until 2012. He wrote in the newspaper “Ostpreussenblatt” in 2001 that he agreed with the statement that the Holocaust was a “myth” and an “effective instrument to criminalize the Germans and their history.”

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Jens Maier

In January, the Dresden judge railed against the “creation of mixed nationalities” that are “destroying national identity.” He has also called for an end to Germany’s “culture of guilt” surrounding the country’s actions in the Second World War.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Beatrix von Storch

The AfD’s vice-chair is an MP in the European parliament and is known for her hardline conservative views. In 2016, she replied affirmatively to a Facebook user who had asked her whether armed force should be used to stop women with children from illegally entering Germany. She later apologized for the comment.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Alexander Gauland

One of the AfD’s top candidates, Gauland was widely criticized after suggesting that the German government’s commissioner for integration, Aydan Özoguz, should be “disposed of” in Turkey because she had said that there was no specifically German culture beyond the German language.

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Alice Weidel

The 38-year-old economist was the AfD’s other top candidate. Despite living in Switzerland, Weidel ran for the Baden-Württemberg constituency of Bodensee. She drew criticism for describing Germany’s integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz, who has Turkish roots, as a “stain” and a “disgrace.” In a contested email attributed to Weidel, she called Angela Merkel’s government “pigs” and “puppets.”

The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany’s new parliamentary representatives

Frauke Petry

For a long time Frauke Petry was the face of the AfD, and she’s one of the more recognizable figures in the Bundestag. But she’s no longer a member of the right-wing populist party. Petry quit shortly after the election after falling out with other leaders. Because she won her voting district outright, she still gets a Bundestag mandate, where she sits as an independent.

Author: Alex Pearson