Hanover: Antifa wants to storm AfD event
At 3:35 p.m., the situation is tense. With a massive contingent, the police prevented about 70 autonomists from entering the Göttinger Sieben square. The AfD is holding its “Healthy without Compulsion” rally there. According to the police, around 170 people attended this event, which is directed against any form of compulsory vaccination. The right-wing populist party had called for such rallies nationwide.
“There is no right to Nazi propaganda” or “Shut up” chanted the young autonomists. The police manage to send the black-clad demonstrators onto the sidewalk in front of the “Klickmühle” pub. Occasionally there are scuffles between officials and Antifa people, otherwise it remains quiet. At that time, the police had blocked Leinstrasse and Karmarschstrasse.
No traffic disruptions
At 1.30 p.m. the rally of the AfD opponents began on Steintorplatz. Around 300 people marched through the city center under the motto “Against fascism and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories”. The demonstration of the “Seebrücke Hannover” alliance had registered. But other left-wing groups are also involved, a spokesman said. For example, a few “grandmas against the right”, as their cardboard signs clearly show.
Demonstrating in these times is not easy. The event itself was directed against the AfD, which the demonstrators believe stands for racism, anti-Semitism and nationalism. But some people also carry signs against Putin and his war in Ukraine.
The police routinely lead the demonstration through the city center. The predicted traffic disruptions are absent on Saturday afternoon. At 3.15 p.m. the AfD opponents reach Trammplatz. There the meeting breaks up. A few dozen autonomous people head towards the Platz der Göttinger Sieben. But the police close the Friedrichswall/Culemannstraße intersection. The Antifa people are asked by loudspeaker announcements to turn back.
They do too. They then reach the AfD meeting place via Leinstraße. When the police prevented the left-wing demonstrators from entering the square of the Göttinger Sieben, the autonomists also chanted against state authority. However, the protest is not particularly persistent. When the national anthem sounds at 4:10 p.m. at the AfD event, most of the protesters have already left.
By Thomas Nagel