Trial by fire for democracy
Tens of thousands demonstrate against the right in Munich
October 4, 2023, 9:35 p.m
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There will be elections in Bavaria next Sunday. According to surveys, the AfD is always at more than ten percent. A demonstration is therefore taking place in Munich. A good 35,000 come together. Also there: Holocaust survivor Charlotte Knobloch. She makes an appeal to society.
The President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, Charlotte Knobloch, has warned that the AfD will gain further strength. According to police, around 35,000 people came together in Munich for a demonstration under the motto “Zammreissen! Bavaria against the right”. Knobloch said at the rally: “If, according to surveys, one in seven Bavarian voters wants to vote for a right-wing extremist party on Sunday, then this is no longer just a slip-up in the political process. It must be clear to everyone: What slips today can be done by our democracy tomorrow buried beneath itself.”
The Holocaust survivor said she herself gained trust in democratic culture over decades after the Second World War. “Today democracy in Germany is experiencing its acid test, and I hope that the optimists are right again this time,” warned the 90-year-old. “Otherwise I see very difficult times coming for minorities such as the Jewish community, but also for the population as a whole. If extremists determine politics, Germany will become a different country: less free, more insecure and poorer.”
Knobloch, who was also president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany for several years, survived the Holocaust because she was hidden by people on a farm in Middle Franconia. Several groups called for the rally. The cult band Spider Murphy Gang also played, and the cabaret artists Luise Kinseher and Michael Mittermeier and the author Lena Gorelik were expected as prominent guests.