Since the public discussion about compulsory vaccinations, the police and the protection of the constitution have observed an increasing radicalization of the lateral thinker movement.

In addition, according to information from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, attempts to influence the AfD and former leaders of the disbanded, right-wing extremist AfD sub-organization "Flügel" are increasing significantly.

"We have observed a radicalization since the compulsory vaccination was discussed," said a spokesman for the ministry.

On Monday evening in Baden-Württemberg alone, around 50,000 people took part in so-called walks, which are usually spontaneous demonstrations that have not been registered with the assembly authorities.

Reinhard Bingener

Political correspondent for Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bremen based in Hanover.

  • Follow I follow

Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

  • Follow I follow

There were "walks" by opponents of the Corona policy on Monday evening in many other cities in Germany.

In Magdeburg, according to the police, around 2,500 people took part in unregistered gatherings that were prohibited by a general decree.

The police inspection of the Saxon-Anhalt state capital reported afterwards of broken police chains, bottles thrown at emergency services as well as pyrotechnics.

Sebastian Striegel, Member of the Green Parliament, told the FAZ that the meetings had been "orchestrated" by right-wing extremists, and that there were obvious references to the hooligan scene at 1. FC Magdeburg.

Overall, however, the attendance was very mixed and sometimes appeared bourgeois.

Many people apparently take no offense at the extremist background of the spokesmen.

On the way back from Magdeburg, Striegel overheard a phone call from an AfD activist on the train who said he was satisfied with the escalation of the protests, which was "good for us".

Dangerous proximity to conspiracy ideologies

In some places there were also riots or scuffles between the police and the demonstrators. In Lichtenstein, a small town in Saxony near Zwickau, a demonstrator tried to snatch the gun from a police officer, allegedly biting the officer. 850 or 300 opponents of the Corona policy marched in smaller cities such as Achern or Oberkirch in the Ortenaukreis. Achern has 24,000 inhabitants, Oberkirch just under 20,000. Individual demonstrators also threatened to continue their underground resistance to the pandemic policy.

The protection of the constitution of Baden-Wuerttemberg registered a dangerous proximity of the lateral thinkers to extremist conspiracy ideologies, they warned against the spread of anti-subversive narratives in this scene, such as those published by "Reichsbürgern". And they observe that in the context of this scene, individuals are expressly calling for violence and a systematic overthrow is also being called for.

In the opinion of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, these calls could have a motivating effect on “unstable individuals”.

Against this background, a further radicalization within the scene appears likely, said a spokesman for the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior.

"In particular, if the measures are tightened up to a compulsory vaccination, violence-related actions and attacks are to be feared," said the spokesman.

Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) told the FAZ on Tuesday after a detailed analysis of the situation on Monday evening: “Anyone who wanders through cities under the guise of a walk with lights, who abuses freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration, even uses violence against those who literally have their heads hold out for the protection of these rights, he crosses a red line. "