COVID-19 protests in Germany

COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests
in Germany
Part of protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
Collage showing protest by coronavirus-conspiracy theory believers and right-wing extremists (right) and counter-protesters (left) in Berlin, 1 August 2020
Date4 April 2020 — 1 October 2022
Location
Berlin and several other cities
Caused by
Goals
  • Ending COVID-19 restrictions in Germany
Methods
StatusConcluded[2]
Arrests
Arrested1850+

Since April 2020, when Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the governmental lockdown imposed in March to counter the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow blanket bans on rallies,[3] numerous protests have been held in Germany against anti-pandemic regulations. The protests attracted a mix of people from varied backgrounds, including supporters of populist ideas who felt called to defend against what they saw as an arrogant central government; supporters of various conspiracy theories; and sometimes far right-wing groups.[4] Anti-vaxxers generally also formed a major part of the protesters.[5][6] Some protesters held strongly negative views towards public media, who they believed to report in an unfair manner;[7] repeatedly, journalists covering the rallies were subjected to harassment and physical attacks.[8][9][10] Such attacks were the main reason why Germany slipped from eleventh to 13th place in the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders, according to a report published on 20 April 2021.[11]

Since about mid-2020, the main organizer of the protests has been a group called Querdenken (lit. 'lateral thinking'), which was initially based in Stuttgart but soon started to organize rallies also in Berlin and other cities.[12] During the second lockdown starting in November 2020, radical conspiracy theorists increased their influence in the movement. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution began to observe parts of the Querdenken movement countrywide in April 2021 for their questioning of the legitimacy of the state.[13] The display of anti-semitic tropes was common at rallies,[14] which drew strong condemnation.[13][15]

Local authorities repeatedly sought to ban rallies. Court challenges to the bans began to be upheld more often in late 2020 as the pandemic situation worsened,[16][17] and as courts expressed their lack of faith in the ability of organisers to maintain physical distancing and other safety measures.[18] Protests were frequently accompanied by counterprotests, which often resulted in tense situations as police tried to keep the groups apart.[17]

  1. ^ Oswald, Bernd (7 February 2021). "Querdenker: Wer sie sind - und wie sich die Bewegung entwickelt" (in German). Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Verfassungsschutz erwartet auch in BW mehr politische Demos samt Extremisten". SWR (in German). 14 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  3. ^ Martyr, Kate (16 April 2020). "Top German court: Coronavirus restrictions not grounds to ban all protests". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. ^ von Hammerstein, Leonie (3 October 2020). "Germany's coronavirus skeptics: Tactics from the Middle Ages". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. ^ Morris, Loveday; Glucroft, William (3 July 2020). "Prospect of a coronavirus vaccine unites anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists and hippie moms in Germany". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. ^ Kluge, Christoph (1 May 2020). "Verschwörungstheorien zum Coronavirus – und ein Streit um Bill Gates". tagesspiegel.de (in German). Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ^ Vogts, Hanning (12 April 2021). "Feindbild der "Querdenken"-Bewegung: "Ein hohes Gewaltpotenzial" gegenüber Medien (interview with Karolin Schwarz)". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. ^ Hänel, Lisa (10 May 2020). "Coronavirus anger foments violence against journalists". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Demonstrators attack, obstruct journalists covering protests against COVID-19 lockdown in Germany". CPJ. 21 August 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  10. ^ "20 000 bei Corona-Demo: Festnahmen und Wasserwerfer" (in German). dpa. 20 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021 – via zeit.de.
  11. ^ Berry, Alex (20 April 2021). "Reporters Without Borders: Press freedoms under pressure in pandemic". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  12. ^ Morris, Loveday; Beck, Luisa (12 November 2020). "Germany's protests against coronavirus restrictions are becoming increasingly radical". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Germany puts anti-lockdown Querdenker group under observation". Deutsche Welle. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt_20210428 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Böhme, Christian; von Salzen, Claudia (6 May 2021). "Antisemitismusbeauftragter für Verbot des gelben Sterns auf Demonstrationen". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  16. ^ Knapp, Ursula; Thomasson, Emma; Jones, Gareth (5 December 2020). "German court upholds ban on coronavirus demonstration". Reuters.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Demos von Lockdown-Gegnern und Corona-Leugnern" (in German). Deutsche Welle. 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  18. ^ "German courts ban 'Querdenker' anti-lockdown demos". Deutsche Welle. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.