10,000 in Berlin Participate in Holocaust Day DemonstrationsMore than 10,000 people in Berlin held an anti-racism demonstration on "Holocaust Day" to express their concern over recent waves of far-right attacks.The day began on Sunday morning, when about 50 people gathered in a park to commemorate Werner Seelenbinder, a man who sacrificed his life fighting against the Nazis. Many people attended other gatherings, conferences and concerts throughout the city to show their opposition to the rise in far-right activities. The day reached its climax in the afternoon, when more than 10,000 people gathered in front of town hall, where Andreas Nachama, leader of the Jewish community in Berlin, inaugurated the day with a speech denouncing far-rightists and neo-Nazis. Nachama noted that certain German politicians have tried to cover up and beautify the bitter realities far-right activities have been surfacing. Far-rightists have been on the rise because the government is not firm enough and the public is weak and lacks the will to fight, he added. Germany's far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) said last Thursday its membership grew more than 10 percent since the government threatened to ban it. NPD leader Udo Voigt last week urged far right-wingers to move towards a single party. He also filed a law suit in attempts to retrieve the party's bank accounts that authorities had closed in hopes of hindering alleged neo-Nazi activities. A rising wave of skinhead violence against foreigners since this summer has reopened the debate over how to tackle far-rightism and racism. Traditionally, Berlin people organize anti-Nazi activities the second weekend of every September. The police said the demonstration this year was the largest-ever since 1990. |
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