Current affairs
The right-wing extremist march as well as its alternative events on November 9 have been prohibited by the adminitstrative authority. An alternative event has been registered, to which the current ban applies as well.
A clear message of Berlin’s Senator of the Interior regarding the ban:
Our democracy is willing and able to endure a lot. We democrats are at ease with conflicting opinions. However, our democracy not necessarily has to tolerate anything. Especially not from those who actually reject our democratic government and society. The idea of right-wing extremists marching through Berlin’s government district, possibly in darkness lit by candles, is intolerable to me.
The provocation issued by this demonstration towards the victims and their descendants is intended and deliberately employed. Thus, red lines are pushed further and further to the right. We can no longer tolerate open right-wing extremism acting under the disguise of freedom of expression. Here, all democrats have to stand united to say: Stop. Thus far and no further.
Action map right-wing extremist march by WfD on November 9, 2018, Berlin-Mitte (as of November 8, 2018, subject to change)
View the map online via our Smartphone-App „Gegen Nazis“ ,with optional service of display of your current location.
Section – Action map right-wing extremist march by WfD on November 9, 2018, Berlin-Mitte (as of November 8, 2018, subject to change)
View the map online via our Smartphone-App „Gegen Nazis“ ,with optional service of display of your current location.
Routes and event locations
- 16:00 Demonstration of Reclaim Club Culture „Faschismus Wegbeamen“ – Route: Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße, Torstraße, Brunnenstraße, Invalidenstraße , Europaplatz
- 17:00 Commemorative event and demonstration of VVN-BdA „Auch nach 80 Jahren – Kein Vergessen! Kein Vergeben!“ Deportationsmahnmal Levetzowstraße (street numbers 6/7) with subsequent demonstration: Levetzowstraße, Gotzkowskystraße, Turmstraße, Stromstraße, Alt-Moabit / Katharina-Paulus-Str.
- 18:00 Speeches by Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin „Es ist geschehen folglich kann es wieder geschehen“ Spreebogenpark/Gustav-Heinemann-Brücke – (coming from Hauptbahnhof, the pedestrian brigde is the only way of access to the south bank of the Spree)
- 18:00 Demonstration Tanzveranstaltung Rosenthaler/Anwohner_inneninitiative für Zivilcourage gegen Rechts „Licht an gegen Nazis“ – Marschallbrücke, Marschallbrücke, Luisenstraße, Reinhardstraße zur Kronprinzenbrücke right and left bank of the Spree towards Spreebogenpark
- 18:00 Speech event Berliner Bündnis gegen Rechts, Hugo Preuss-Brücke
- 18:00 Speech event Berliner Bündnis gegen Rechts Alt-Moabit / Katharina-Paulus-Str.
- 18:00 Speech event Berliner Bündnis gegen Rechts Paul-Löbe-Allee (Reichstag)
- 18:30 take-off event of the right-wing extremist march of Wir für Deutschland (WfD), Washingtonplatz / probable marching route: Washingtonplatz, Rahel-Hirsch-Straße, Moltkebrücke, Willy Brandt Str., Bundeskanzleramt, Heinrich-von-Gagern-Straße back to Washingtonplatz
- 18.30 alternative event of Wir für Deutschland (WfD) – place unknown
Commemoration
In the night of November 9, 1938, open and directed violence against the Jewish population erupted in Germany. During this night, people were murdered, displaced and detained, shops under Jewish ownership were looted and destroyed, Synagogues were destroyed in arson attacks. To commemorate the pogrom night and the subsequent Holocaust in Berlin, several commemorative events are announced. An overview by Berlin gegen Nazis and the alliance Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin.
Since 1990, the annual commemorative event hosted by the Berlin-based association Vereinigung der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschistinnen und Antifaschisten VVN-BdA is taking place under the slogan „Es ist geschehen, und folglich kann es wieder geschehen“. This year, the event starts at 17:00 Kundgebung ab 17.00 Uhr at the memorial Deportationsmahnmal Levetzowstraße in Berlin-Moabit, with speeches of, among others, the Holocaust survivor Horst Selbiger. A subsequent anti-Fascist demonstration will also address the announced right-wing extremist march at Hauptbahnhof.. The demonstration, which traditionally leads towards the memorial at Putlitzbrücke (Westhafen), will this time continue further to join the counter protests at Hauptbahnhof.
There are meeting points for a joint commute by Bündnis Zusammen gegen Rassismus Moabit und Wedding.
- 16:00 Leopoldplatz / in front of Nazarethkirche for Wedding
- 16:15 Hansaplatz / in front of GripsTheater for Moabit
Protests against the right-wing extremist march
The alliance Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin, an association of churches, trade unions, charities and further actors of civil society, calls to join their protests at Spreebogenpark at 18:00 under the slogan “Es ist geschehen, und folglich kann es wieder geschehen. Primo Levi“. The event without speeches will utter their protest by raising a large banner with the quote by Primo Levi and further posters and lights. The alliance calls to bring flash lights, bike lights, and the like.
The call of the Berlin alliance states:
The alliance Berliner Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin calls everyone to raise their voice in favor of a responsible manner of dealing with German history and to defend a Berlin of open-mindedness and solidarity.
(…)
How could it possibly happen back then? Due to the large majority within civil society, which remained silent! This is testified with Primo Levi’s expression: “It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.” The writer, chemist, anti-Fascist Jew survived the NS dictatorship in Auschwitz.
We wish to show our responsibility for a sincere culture of commemoration to prevent a recurrence of the atrocities of National Socialism. We are responsible for such a democratic society!
The initiatives in Mitte, TanzVersammlungRosenthaler – Tanzen gegen Rechts und die Anwohner_inneninititive für Zivilcourage – Gegen Rechts, who recently hosted the resident’s protests against the march by WfD of October 3, call to join their demonstration under the slogan “Licht an gegen Nazis, Ein leuchtender Protestzug – gegen Rechts” starting at 18:00 at Marshallbrücke. The demonstration will march along both banks of the Spree towards the protest event hosted by Bündnis für ein weltoffenes und tolerantes Berlin at Spreebogenpark.
The organizers of this counter protest call as well to bring eclectic lights.
The call states:
On November 9, 2018, at 18:30, old and new Nazis of “Wir für Deutschland” will meet on Washingtonplatz at Hauptbahnhof to hold a march of sorrow under the slogan “”, right through the center of Berlin towards the Reichstag where they intend to light candles. It remains unclear what exactly those “victims of German politics” should be. An association characterized by anti-Semitism and Racism is unlikely to mourn the victims of the pogroms of November 9, 1938. We wish to set a signal against this illegitimate appropriation of speech, gestures, and symbols!
(…)
We wish to show our differentiation to “Wir für Deutschland”’s “march of sorrow” by lighting the darkness with flash lights, torches, bike lights, LEDs, lightsticks, headlights and the like.
The Berliner Bündnis gegen Rechts – a joint initiative of associations, charities, left-wing and anti-fascist groups – is mobilizing under the slogan “Gedenken heißt handeln“ to join their protests at Hauptbahnhof. Furthermore, the alliance is hosting its own series of events during the week preceding November 9. On November 9, the location of protest events of Berliner Bündnis gegen Rechts are Hugo-Preuss-Brücke, Alt-Moabit/Katharina-Paulus-Straße und Platz der Republik
The association of Berlin’s club culture scene Reclaim Club Culture mobilizes under the slogan „Faschismus wegbeamen“ to join their protest starting at 16:00 Uhr on Rosa-Luxemburg Platz. A demonstration will start there towards Hauptbahnhof. Electric lights and light installations will be the protest’s main means of expression as well.
Assessment
Mobile Beratung gegen Rechtsextremismus (MBR) has published an assesment regarding the upcoming march of WfD. On their mobilization strategy and the spectrum of expected supporters, it states:
The march has been advertised since September. As of now, mobilization takes place almost exclusively via social media. Currently, the number of interested individuals on facebook is 1,088. (…) At present, a nation-wide mobilization comparable to the event of October 3, is not taking place, which is why MBR does not expect comparably high numbers of participants.
Judging from past events hosted by WfD, the expected participants are likely to come from the same spectrum as on October 3 and the previous marches under the slogan “Merkel muss weg”; these are right-wing extremists organized in comradeships, NPD members, members of the political party “Der III. Weg”, of the “Identitäre Bewegung” movement, supporters of the “Reichsbürger” movement, football hooligans, members of the AfD’s “Patriotische Plattform”, supporters of further right-wing factions and groups as well as anti-Isalm and anti-refugee initiatives.
All information subject to change, please check twitter for current updates, use hash tags #b0911 #9Nov #nowfd