'We are the firewall': 150,000 rally against Germany's looming far-right movement

Hundreds of thousands of activists marched on Berlin on Saturday to protest against the country's growing far-right movement.

The Alternative for Germany party (AfD) had soared in the polls in recent months, but a scandal which saw their members, as well as some politicians from the conservative Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), attend a meeting where the discussion over the expulsion of migrants - and even German citizens with a migrant background - has sparked a major backlash.

This weekend's protesters described themselves as a human firewall against the right-wing extremism they say is attacking German democracy. An estimated 150,000 people took part in demonstration in the German capital, with demonstrators forming a human chain around the Reichstag building, the seat of the German parliament.

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This weekend's rally follows a series of protests across Germany last month against the rising tide of anti-immigration sentiment which attracted more than 1.5 million people. Those who came out on a rainy Saturday in Berlin said they were part of a movement of moderates in Germany, with one woman telling CGTN Europe that they had been silent for too long.

"We need to show that it's not just the voice of the AfD that we are hearing in Germany. Other people are voicing their opinions, and they are ready to come out and show what they believe in," she said.

The protesters who gathered on Platz der Republik in front of the Reichstag building came from all walks of life in German society, but carrying the same message.

"I'm here to defend our freedom. I'm here to stand against the right wing in Germany and Europe. To defend our humanity. Hopefully," one protester told CGTN. 

In amongst anti-fascist banners and placards decrying the AFD, it was noticeable how many families were present. One father cradling his infant child said that being at the demonstration wasn't much, but he felt like they had to do something.

"We have our little baby daughter here, and it's such a strange thing in this country where there's a far-right movement with 20 to nearly 30 percent of the vote. We have to do something, so we are here," he told CGTN.

Several politicians from within the ruling three-party coalition were in attendance, including Health Minister Karl Lauterbach from the Social Democrats and Family Minister Lisa Paus from the Greens, who, along with the Free Democrats, make up the current government.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent his support for the Berlin protest and others across the country via his social media account, calling them a "Strong signal for democracy and our constitution."

The AfD hit back at the message from the German chancellor, saying, "What have we in Germany actually come to when a government calls a demonstration against part of the population?"

The latest polling shows there has been some impact, with AfD dropping 3 points to around 19 percent nationally.

However, the far-right party remains strong in the eastern German states of Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony, which will hold elections later this year. They will likely become a major factor in those elections and in shaping the regional governments that result from them.

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