“Querdenker” demo in Stuttgart: beer tent atmosphere and “dictatorship” posters

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On Saturday morning there is a beer tent atmosphere on Stuttgart's Marienplatz.

It's jam-packed, no gaps, hardly any protective masks.

In the front a woman yells through the microphone: “Merkel must ...” And from the crowd it resounds: “Away!” Then the woman again: “Wieler must ...” - “Away!” And so it goes on.

Then a man comes to the microphone, it's about vaccinations against the coronavirus, and he shouts: "With my children one thing is certain: Only over my corpse!" The audience hoots, shoulder to shoulder, between posters with terms like "lethal injection", "Södolf" and "Dictatorship".

Germany's self-proclaimed “lateral thinkers” have returned to the city where their protest was formed a good year ago.

There are now nationwide offshoots of the initiative that want to put an end to the corona measures by the federal and state governments.

At least 10,000 people marched through the streets and gathered in the afternoon on the Cannstatter Wasen.

In a phase of this pandemic, in which the mood is becoming more irritable and calls for a hard lockdown are getting louder, the movement is under special observation - also by the constitution protection.

In Baden-Wuerttemberg, the state office has established close ties between parts of the "lateral thinkers" and extremists.

The "lateral thinkers" took to the streets for what they call their fundamental rights

Source: Getty Images

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Larger disputes as in previous demos did not take place in Stuttgart until Saturday afternoon.

And yet there were occasional clashes and threats of violence, again against reporters.

A mobile phone video shows how a freelance journalist from Dortmund is approached by a participant.

The man hits him in the face with the flat of his hand, tells the reporter to “piss off” and insults him as a “son of a bitch”.

Like the clear majority of the demonstrators, the attacker did not wear a protective mask.

The requirements of the authorities - keep your distance, wear your masks - were consistently disregarded.

It has features of a religious struggle: A woman on Marienplatz refused a conversation with WELT because the reporter was not ready to take off his mask when she was asked.

The mayor of Stuttgart, Clemens Maier, who is responsible for public order, pointed out the strict requirements before the demo - and made it clear that the corona ordinance does not allow for a ban on gatherings.

But why didn't the police take more decisive action against demonstrators who ignored the conditions?

A spokesman said the responsibility for this rests with the city.

The police only act if they are instructed to do so.

"Anti-conflict team" was emblazoned on officials' yellow vests - that also seemed to be the strategic motto that day.

Conduct of the police under surveillance

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After the sometimes chaotic large-scale demonstrations in other cities, the work of the police in Stuttgart was under observation.

During the protest in Kassel at the end of March, the emergency services were taken by surprise by thousands of demonstrators.

In addition, the image of a policewoman who apparently showed solidarity by forming a heart with her hands spread widely.

In Stuttgart there was little to be seen of police solidarity with “lateral thinkers”.

On Twitter, however, a handshake between a "thinking outside the box" folder and an officer caused a stir.

State guards from Baden-Württemberg were concerned in advance that the demo could lead to clashes between right-wing groups and left-wing groups.

According to a police document that is available to WELT, the police had expected a group of "old hooligans" from Leverkusen to arrive.

However, there were no such clashes until the afternoon.

For several months now, observers have noticed that parts of the “lateral thinking” movement have connections in extremist and conspiracy ideological circles.

The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in Baden-Württemberg announced that initial criticism of the state measures had "increasingly given way to basic public hostility".

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In addition, there are “entanglements of leading“ lateral thinking ”actors in the milieu of“ Reich citizens ”and“ self-administrators ”.

Most recently, it became known that the Stuttgart offshoot "lateral thinking 711" and its founder Michael Ballweg had opened an account at the bank of a right-wing extremist "Reichsbürger" organization.

Which direction are Ballweg's “lateral thinkers” going in the future?

In view of the ongoing pandemic and the current vaccination discussions, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers further radicalization to be “entirely conceivable”.