1:40 p.m. | Family area for the rally
According to their own statements, the action alliance between the Semperoper and the Zwinger has created a quieter family area for families on Theaterplatz. There, children have space to run around and can “paint with chalk or paint demo posters themselves.”
1:15 p.m. | Live music from Revolverheld at the start
The band Revolverheld plays three songs right at the beginning of the rally before they continue on to Berlin. Andre Lang then speaks as a representative of the Jewish communities in Dresden. His statement: “We don’t want the fate of millions of Jewish families to be repeated. Never is now.”
1:00 p.m. | Rally starts on time
The police do not want to commit to the exact number of participants. A police spokesman told MDR SACHSEN that there were definitely “several thousand.” The organizers of the action alliance were also unable to provide any precise information at the start of the event. As a spokeswoman for MDR SACHSEN said, the theater square was well filled. People would still stream into the square from side streets or trams.
12:45 p.m. | Theaterplatz is slowly filling up
The first participants arrive a quarter of an hour before the event begins. Among them Monika and Alexander Pösche. They came so that “Germany will not be ruled by Nazis again.” They were also there last week and also at a demo in Meißen. Shortly before the start of the rally, the band Banda Comunale does a sound check.
12:15 p.m. | The number of supporting organizations is growing
A good 40 minutes before the start of the rally on Theaterplatz in Dresden, the number of supporting local civil society associations, institutions, unions, religious communities, charities, universities and companies rose to 205. It also has a wide spectrum of political parties List of the newly founded, non-partisan action alliance signed.
11:40 a.m. | LAG Boys’ and Men’s Work: “Men are represented significantly more often in right-wing groups”
On behalf of the Saxony State Working Group for Boys’ and Men’s Work, which is also calling for a demonstration on Saturday, the chairman of the board, Christian Kurzke, writes on the short message service platform Violence as a means of asserting their interests. If equality, plurality and diversity are to be despised and prevented, this is not only to the detriment of a few, but to all of us in our country. We defend and defend ourselves against this – now.”
11:00 a.m. | Rallies, concerts and a quick tour of the city: traffic delays in the afternoon
From 12:30 p.m. there may be traffic restrictions on the access roads around Theaterplatz. The anti-right rally starts at 1 p.m. on Dresden’s Theaterplatz with a concert by the band Revolverheld and a “live link” to Berlin, where a large demonstration with 100,000 participants has been announced for today. This will be followed by speeches and live music by the Dresden electronic duo Ätna and the band Banda Comunale.
An hour-long demonstration through Dresden city center is planned for around half past two, as a spokeswoman for the MDR SACHSEN action alliance announced. Between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. there will be traffic disruptions along the route via Terrassenufer, the B170 (out of town), Wilsdruffer Straße to Sophienstraße and back to Theaterplatz. “However, it is possible that the route will be extended at short notice by the police if significantly more people join the demonstration than expected,” said the spokeswoman.
10:00 am | “Rough tone in society”
Frank Schaffrath, deputy managing director of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) Saxony, said to MDR SACHSEN before the rally: “We are experiencing that the tone is becoming harsher, that certain groups of people are being openly attacked. We are involved in refugee social work. We are experiencing that the “Group of people with non-German roots are exposed to discrimination; that children with and children without disabilities are pitted against each other and also people with particular social difficulties who have difficulty finding an apartment or job.”