Skirmishes as neo-Nazis demonstrate in Berlin

[1968]

Around 750 neo-Nazis took part in a rally in central Berlin Saturday, leading to minor skirmishes and 17 arrests, police reported.

The demonstrators gathered at Berlin's Alexanderplatz, dressed in black and bearing flags and banners inscribed with right-wing paroles.

The rally, accompanied by anti-riot police, drew a large number of opponents who booed and whistled at the neo-Nazi crowd.

'We took part in the demonstrations against the East German regime in 1989, but this is not what we wanted,' one woman told DPA, after spitting at a right-wing demonstrator.

Read on:

http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?a=jkkvOcjddcj&title=Skirmishes_as_750_neo-Nazis_demonstrate_in_Berlin
(http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/grossman111009.html)

[1968]

US journalist eye witness account:


"Several thousands of them, almost all in black, many skinheads but also many all too normal-looking youngsters (and a smattering of very blonde girls), with the loudest loudspeaker I've heard in years blaring out their propaganda, agitating against democracy, denouncing the Bundestag representatives, even the cops, spreading hatred against all foreigners, but above all against the Left and the leftists. At least one big banner contained a warning threat: "Make sure you know where the nearest Antifascist club is located.""

"One man who was standing next to me watching the meeting noted that the anti-Nazis, mostly the same age as the Nazis, were also often wearing black jackets -- the color in fashion these days, I guess. He seemed to lump both Nazis and anti-Nazis together, a worrisome development. I don't know how many others also thought that way. Most of the crowd were decidedly antifascist. Some, perhaps those whose emotions led them to break though to attack the Nazis, got arrested."


Full story - http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/grossman111009.html

[1968]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDpTAnL0JlA&feature=player_embedded

01:23

One member of the master race not looking too happy. Bottle to the head it looks like.

[Pogue]

So was there an counter-demo? Is this an unusual thing or? Any details on the context basically?

[1968]

So was there an counter-demo? Is this an unusual thing or? Any details on the context basically?

Yes, there was a quite a big anti - fascist counter demo and I expect fash demo's in Berlin are very regular.

Have emailed a berlin comrade. Hopefully he can give us some context and/or overview of things over there atm.

[1968]

So was there an counter-demo? Is this an unusual thing or? Any details on the context basically?

From a comrade in Berlin:

"There was a counter demo that stayed with the nazi march the entire way. It was basically two demos of equal size, the nazi one was probably
bigger in fact, but nevertheless. The Nazis were never over 800 but were particularly boistorous because at this stage they were still under the
illusion that the anti-fa were responsible for a molotov attack on one of their bars in which one of their people was so badly injured he will probably
die. Since Saturday it has come out that the attack was most likely carried out but a pissed off punter, if not a Nazi himself who had been kicked
out of the bar earlier on in the week.

So anyway all the big shots were there, it seemed to be a wide coalition of autonomous nationalists, boneheads, NDPers (the BNP like party here in
Germany) and some of the more obscure groups. The counter demo was made up also of a wide spectrum of people and while it surrounded the
Nazi demo, large groups of Anti-fa were roaming around the city trying to cause as much hassle as possible in a bid to get the march stopped.

So there were various attacks on the cops, two cars burned, burning bins in the street. The cops had the water cannon and the barricade tank out
and a fuckin huge amount of riot cops. THe were quite a few arrests of anti-fa and their sympathisers. Nothing too serious I think, mostly for being
masked up which is illegal here.

As far as bashing the fash not much happened during the march, some bottles here and there some pushing but generally the police went into
brutal kick the shit out of everybody mode if the two sides looked like they were getting too close.

The Nazis in an unforeseen act of humour were throwing meat and cheese sandwiches to piss of the vegetarians and vegans! However they got attacked earlier in the day on their way to the demo in a smaller town and later on on the platform of a train station in Berlin.

Anyway, this was seen by most as the most disheartening response to a nazi mobilisation in recent years. They usually get to go no-where and
get some good bashings but Saturday will be seen by them as a significant victory.

Its worth bearing in mind for us that at the same time there
was another Anti-fa mobilisation in Germany and the Autonome Congress in Hamburg. Also, the nazi march was called at very short notice and
with the information that one of the people was on his deathbed because of the anti-fa.

So taking all the information into account and the fact that
they were met eveyry step of the way with jeers, projectiles and a significant amount of people who wanted to kick their heads in I dont think it was
anywhere near a victory. The sheer amount of attacks and car burnings against the Nazis and the recent shutdown of their demo in Hamburg in
spectacular style means this was more a freak one off than a sign of things to come."

[Stand Your Ground]

after spitting at a right-wing demonstrator.
(http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/grossman111009.html)
Nice lol. With the amount of activity I've been hearing about recently it wouldn't surprise me if a fascist vs. anti-fascist war broke out.

[An archist]

So was there an counter-demo? Is this an unusual thing or? Any details on the context basically?

Of course there was a counter-demo. Basically all of the radical left in Germany is antifa.