Far-right supporters demonstrated against left-wing extremism while antifa supporters called out the rise of fascism in the city centre of Berlin on Feb. 22, one day before Germany’s federal election.
One of the right-wing protests was organised by Ferhat Sentürk, the founder and leader of a far-right party, Bürgerliche Allianz Für Deutschland, or Civic Alliance for Germany, formerly a member of Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
A group of far-right supporters marched from Dorothea-Schlegel-Platz near Friedrichstraße Station to Berlin Central Station waving the national flag of Germany.
Meanwhile, another group of antifa supporters gathered in Schiffbauerdamm to protest against the far-right supporters. Police set up blockades on both sides of the far-right demonstration route to prevent clashes.
“If you have a child as a woman, you may not be able to have a legal abortion because some populists and moralists believe that our self-determination does not matter,” said Penelope Alva Frank, a LGBTQ activist, during a speech in the antifa protest.
“We have to show that we resist as German people against this far-right propaganda, and this far-right movement is against human rights,” said Marianna, a Green party and antifa supporter who did not disclose her surname because of privacy concerns.
Despite police interventions, some antifa supporters managed to block far-right protesters on Hannoversche Strasse for about an hour.
The Young Reporter reached out to a number of far-right supporters during their demonstration, but they claimed they do not speak English.
The far-right AfD gained widespread support in states that were formerly part of East Germany and nearly doubled their seats to 152 in the Bundestag, according to the Federal Returning Officer.
The Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union in Bavaria, a centre-right alliance, won 208 seats and became the dominant force in the Bundestag.
The incumbent governing coalition, including the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party, all lost seats.
Leader of the CDU/CSU, Friederick Merz, a centre-right figure, is set to be Germany’s next chancellor.
《The Young Reporter》
The Young Reporter (TYR) started as a newspaper in 1969. Today, it is published across multiple media platforms and updated constantly to bring the latest news and analyses to its readers.
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