In Germany as well as in Berlin, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered on Saturday, just like in other cities. Mostly dressed in black, they shouted "No to Racism" and "Black Lives Matter". In some places, however, significantly more people came together than the organizers had announced - and significantly more than the authorities in the middle of the corona pandemic considered permissible.
That is why Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn spoke up. "The fight against racism needs our common commitment. Every day," Spahn tweeted, "but crowds of people in the middle of the pandemic are upsetting me." "Keep your distance, wear an everyday mask, take care of each other", also applies to important issues. "To protect us and others."
According to police, there were around 15,000 participants at Berlin's Alexanderplatz alone . The organizers had only expected 1500 people. The Berlin police therefore wrote on Twitter in the afternoon: "Alexanderplatz is full." She urged not to go there anymore. In order to enable people to comply with the pandemic distance rules, the officials finally closed off several surrounding streets. They wanted to make room.
A similar scenario further south: Around 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Munich - instead of the originally registered 200. "We have made permanent announcements to indicate compliance with the distance rules, which were often not adhered to at the beginning," said a police spokesman. The meeting area was finally expanded to offer more alternatives.
The Frankfurt police said that the protesters had tried to reduce the risk of infection by staying away and wearing protective masks. At the same time, the crowds were sometimes large. The police said about 8,000 participants on Twitter. There were also rallies in Cologne and Stuttgart .
In Hamburg , the police spoke of a total of 14,000 participants at two almost simultaneous rallies on Jungfernstieg and Rathausmarkt. Because of the corona rules, only a good 800 were actually allowed. The police initially decided that they wanted to end the protests because of the large number of people to protect them from the risk of infection - but then also decided against the dissolution of the crowd with the health protection argument, according to a report by the NDR.
The Hamburg police had already declared their solidarity with the participants before the demonstrations: "We are at your side!", She tweeted before the rallies began. "Racism must have no place in our society. We work every day so that everyone in Hamburg can feel safe." In fact, the actual rally in the Hanseatic city was peaceful, but
after the demo there were clashes between a group of demonstrators and the police.
A spokeswoman said pyrotechnics had been ignited from the group. Two police officers were injured. Some hooded people would have unrolled banners with the words "Bull pigs" and "ACAB", which stands for "All cops are bastards". Translated: "All police officers are bastards."
The police used water cannons to clear the square and used pepper spray against the demonstrators.
According to the police,
violence also occurred in Berlin after the peaceful demonstration. Out of a group, stones and bottles were thrown at police officers and passers-by. A press photographer was also hit by a bottle. He suffered a laceration on the head. It was not a targeted attack, said a spokeswoman. Police officers were also injured in isolated cases, the police said on Twitter. There were also several arrests, but no exact figures were given.
Ein paar hundert Menschen waren in vielen deutschen Städten jeweils zu Anti-Rassismus-Demos angemeldet. Am Ende erschienen deutlich mehr - und stürzten die Polizei wegen der Corona-Regeln mancherorts in ein Dilemma.
www.spiegel.de
Oh wait, this doesn't fit the narative... Another black cop murdered. Not that liberals care.
