AfD Election Victory in Saxony-Anhalt Draws Thousands of Protesters in Berlin, Potsdam and Schwerin
Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Police estimated that about 5,000 people protested against the AfD at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate after the party won the Saxony-Anhalt election; organizers put attendance at 14,000.
- Demonstrations also took place in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Potsdam, with additional protests planned in several German cities.
- The AfD won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt according to preliminary results, falling three seats short of an absolute parliamentary majority; the state party has held a confirmed far-right classification since 2023.
About 5,000 people gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to protest the AfD’s election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, according to police. Organizers put the crowd at around 14,000. Police said the demonstration passed without incident.
Climate and political activist Luisa Neubauer and the leading Green and Left Party candidates for Berlin’s September 20 state election were among those attending. Jens-Christian Wagner, director of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation, told the rally that the AfD’s result was “a disgrace that makes people angry and stunned.”
a disgrace that makes people angry and stunned
Wagner warned that, for the first time since the liberation from National Socialism, a far-right government could come to power. The result, he said, must not simply be accepted in silence.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is not Saxony-Anhalt.
Protests also took place in several locations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At a demonstration in Schwerin, state Premier Manuela Schwesig said, “Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is not Saxony-Anhalt.” She added, “We will stop the AfD’s fantasies of power together. The AfD will not get our home.” The state holds its own parliamentary election on September 20.
Hundreds also gathered in Potsdam. Evening protests were planned in Münster, Göttingen, Dresden, Aachen, Bamberg, Darmstadt and Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD received 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt according to preliminary results, missing an outright majority by three seats. The state branch has been classified by the domestic intelligence service as confirmed far-right extremist since 2023.
We will stop the AfD’s fantasies of power together. The AfD will not get our home.
About this summary
Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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