Barely two months after the murder of the President of the German Parliament, Walter Lübcke (CDU), thousands of people in Kassel demonstrated right-wing extremists against an elevator. About 3,000 people participated in a first protest march in the morning, according to the police. At first, there were no reports of incidents.
Lübcke had been shot dead on 2 June in his house in the district of Kassel. The Attorney General is based on a right-wing extremist background. The 45-year-old Stephan E. had confessed to the crime and then revoked his confession.
The smallest party The Right had now called for a demonstration. The police expect up to 500 participants. The party speaks of an instrumentalization of the act, which put rights in the vicinity of violence and terror.
An alliance against law has registered numerous counter-meetings with probably several thousands of demonstrators. The city of Kassel had failed before the Hessian Administrative Court in an attempt to ban the deployment of the right-wing extremists.
Kramp-Karrenbauer appeals to the Bundeswehr
Meanwhile, the new German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) reminded the Bundeswehr of its responsibility in the fight against right-wing extremism and hate speech. „We also see today that legitimate and democratic officials are being labeled as traitors,“ she said today on the occasion of the pledge of about 400 soldiers in Berlin. Thus, she drew a comparison to National Socialism, since the vow took place on the 75th anniversary of the failed Hitler assassination.
„We are also seeing today that our democracy is being scorned,“ continued Kramp-Karrenbauer. In addition, there are „attacks on the values of our constitution“ and „incitement of populists and political arsonists.“ In memory of the resistance group around Colonel Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg, she said: „Committed to this tradition.“ The officers are role models.
Merkel pays tribute to the resistance fighters
In remembrance of the resistance against the Nazi tyranny, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has expressed and valued the courage of the group around Stauffenberg. „There are moments when disobedience can be a duty,“ she said today at the solemn pledge.
In some moments, „the individual has the moral duty“ to contradict and resist, Merkel continued in her speech to the soldiers and referred to the right to resist enshrined in the Basic Law. The resistance fighters are role models, and their „clear attitude, their courage“ would have to „guide us today,“ Merkel said. Your approach remains a reminder. „They urge us to be vigilant and urge us to strongly oppose right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and racism in all its manifestations.
