More than 10,000 join anti-extremism rally in German city of Kiel
More than 10,000 people joined a protest against right-wing extremism in the northern German city of Kiel on Saturday amid several similar rallies and marches around the country.
Coinciding with the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the event drew crowds to the Baltic Sea port city's historic main square in support of democracy and solidarity.
"Our democracy is more stable than the democracy of 100 years ago, but let's not be too sure," said Kiel Mayor Ulf Kämpfer, who also attended.
The German Trade Union Confederation, the organizer of the rally, counted more than 15,000 participants, while the police spoke of 11,500 people.
As elsewhere, the Kiel demonstration reflected public concern at the recent electoral successes of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, whose anti-immigration platform has driven much of its growth.
"Right-wing extremists and delegitimizers are getting louder," said Schleswig-Holstein's Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack. "One thing is certain: National Socialist ideas must have no place in our society."
The anti-extremism events on Saturday also followed a recent report by the Correctiv group of investigative journalists that several AfD figures and Austrian white supremacist Martin Sellner held a meeting in Potsdam in November.
