Over 20,000 rally in Germany against new far-right AfD youth wing

BERLIN (AA) — More than 20,000 people marched in the central German city of Giessen on Saturday, forming what organizers called the largest protest yet against the launch of a new youth organization within the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Suraj Mailitafi, spokesperson for the Resist alliance — one of several groups coordinating the demonstrations — said protesters were determined to prevent the AfD from cultivating a new generation of extremists.

“We will not allow the next generation of violent fascists to organize in the Hessenhallen,” he said, referring to the venue hosting the party’s founding congress.

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), another organizer, voiced similar concerns. Michael Rudolph, DGB’s regional chair for Hesse and Thuringia, called the rally an “impressive, visible, and profoundly democratic stand against hatred and division.”

He stressed that holding seats in parliament does not make the AfD a democratic party, pointing to its ongoing disregard for democratic norms.

Street blockades and large crowds delayed the start of the AfD meeting by more than two hours, with many of the roughly 1,000 expected participants initially unable to access the site.

The German Press Agency (dpa) reported that at one point a group of protesters attempted to breach police barriers to reach the congress venue. Officers pushed them back, deploying a water cannon among other crowd-control measures.