Demonstrators gather to protest against the Alternative for Germany party, which is this weekend. Photo by Christoph Rutenolk/EPA
July 4 (UPI) — Thousands of protesters on Saturday blocked roads in Erfurt, Germany, in an effort to prevent members of the far right Alternative fur Deutschland party from meeting.
The gathering of the party’s delegates to choose new leaders garnered the large protest at least partially because of the date of the conference, which coincides with the date that Adolf Hitler introduced the Hitler Youth, as well as the Hitler salute, The Guardian reported.
The AfD, which finished with roughly 20% of the vote in the most recent German federal election, has been regarded by many in Germany to be too extremist, with Politico reporting that other European far-right parties — including France’s National Rally — have cut ties with it.
“Who’s making headlines today? WE ARE,” the anti-AfD group Widersetzen, which organized the protests, said in a post on Instagram.
“Who’s hiding in glass halls?” the group said in its post. “The fascists of the AfD. 17,000 people in the blockades and the tens of thousands in the demonstrations are a powerful counterforce. We are ready to stand up for social justice and security.”
In a speech, AfD national leader Alice Weidel said that “troublemakers out there at the door: you won’t bring us down.”
The protesters, as well as many historians and politicians, in Germany said that AfD deliberately held its conference on the centennial of the Nazi conference in Weimar where Hitler introduced both the youth “movement” and salute.
The party previously has been accused of racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim policies, as well as downplaying Nazi actions during their rule in Germany and World War II.
News anchors are seen outside the Supreme Court of the United States as the court releases their final opinions before summer recess on Tuesday. The court upheld birthright citizenship and also state laws banning transgender women and girls from playing on school athletic teams. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
