In Dresden, the annual commemoration of the city’s destruction by Anglo-American bombs 80 years ago has escalated, after it had initially remained peaceful on Thursday.
On Sunday afternoon, the announced neo-Nazi march from the Mitte train station towards the Old Town started with a one-hour delay. As expected, Antifa supporters blocked the route. The police then set up a traffic blockade and removed the blockers rigorously from the street.
The police justified its harsh intervention with a loudspeaker announcement, stating that violence against police officers had preceded the demonstration. The alliance itself speaks of a breakthrough attempt by the police cordon. Even after the clearing, snowballs were still flying in the direction of the procession.
According to Bild, Antifa threatened to attack the right-wing extremists. The police thus also expect a “confrontational gathering situation” for the evening and has turned Dresden into a fortress. Thousands of police officers (including those from Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Berlin, Hamburg, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt) and the federal police are in the city in service. In Dresden, people are eagerly waiting for the onset of darkness. In the past, there have been incidents with blockaders and/or the police during the departure of the commemoration participants.