(RepublicanDaily.org) – Protesters against Germany’s far-right movement in government came out in droves following news of a meeting of members of the ultra-conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party that sought to deport millions of migrants – including some who have already secured German citizenship.
Even the organizers of the protest movements scattered all throughout Germany were surprised at the turnout. A recent protest in Frankfurt was attended by 35,000 people, while another Hamburg, the country’s second-largest city, drew a crowd estimated to be around 50,000 people. Authorities had to shut down the protest earlier than expected due to safety reasons given the extremely high number of people who showed up. Protest actions in other German cities such as Hannover, Nuremberg, and Stuttgart likewise saw a high number of attendees. Protesters touted slogans such as “Defend Democracy,” “Against Hate,” “Nazis, no thank you,” and “Never Again is Now.”
The meeting of members of the AfD was uncovered in an investigative report released by a news outlet called Correctiv, which carried the title, “Secret plan against Germany.” The news report claims that the meeting focused on a “master plan” for removal of millions of migrants and refugees from the country, including individuals with German citizenship who were deemed to be insufficiently “assimilated” in German society. One prominent participant of the meeting was Martin Sellner, who leads Austria’s Identitarian Movement and is a known believer of the “great replacement” theory. The great replacement theory is a conspiracy theory that claims that non-white migrants have hatched a scheme to “replace” the white native population of Europe. Everything about the meeting carried similar themes as the worldview espoused by the Nazi movement in the 1930s.
The more “mainstream” members of the AfD have taken efforts to distance themselves from the meeting following the protests. Alice Weidel, who serves as co-leader of the AfD, said that the party was being attacked by its political opponents, and also fired one of her political advisers who attended the meeting.
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