The German city of Hannover is in Lower Saxony, which is a state in what used to be West Germany, where “xenophobic” sentiments are far less common than in the states of the former DDR. Nevertheless, several hundred citizens from Lower Saxony staged a march against immigration in Hannover last weekend.
The following video reports on the demonstration in Hannover. Many thanks to MissPiggy for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling.
From the notes accompanying the video (also translated by Miss Piggy):
Under the motto “It’s enough!” the supporters of the AfD gathered on Saturday August 24th at 5 p.m. at the Platz der Göttinger Sieben. The police spoke of 300 participants; the organisers said there were around 500 participants. A hijab-wearer attacked demonstrators. Police were present in a large-scale operation. 500 Lower Saxons took to the streets demanding more internal security and declaring “enough is enough” after a series of murders by asylum seekers.
Pay special attention to the interview with a young man about three minutes into the video:
Video transcript:
| 00:17 | “I will fight until my last breath and no one can stop me” —It is the burka-wearing lady. | |
| 00:28 | The burka-wearing lady fights with the police. | |
| 00:43 | The “It’s enough!” AfD demonstration marched through Hannover on Saturday. It was peaceful, with | |
| 00:49 | a police presence, except for a few skirmishes on the outskirts. | |
| 01:13 | (Signs) Protect the Borders —It’s Enough! / For the preservation of the Christian Occident | |
| 01:21 | Love instead of hate! Love instead of hate! —You all should be in school! | |
| 01:27 | Are you going to become aggressive now because of that? Go ahead. | |
| 01:35 | Look at this one! | |
| 01:41 | All of Hannover hates the AfD! All of Hannover hates the AfD! | |
| 01:56 | (Sign) We demand Border Protection! The Migration Pact is Inhumane! | |
| 02:00 | A burka-wearing Islamist just attacked me. I’m not joking. | |
| 02:06 | So as I said, horses are being used so democracy can be practiced. | |
| 02:12 | Young man, how is it that, contrary to your fellow students, | |
| 02:16 | you have a different political opinion? —I’m already 23 years old. | |
| 02:20 | You don’t look that old. —It’s OK. Before, when I was in school, when I was 16, you were taught | |
| 02:26 | what you are supposed to learn. At that time I hated the AfD too. —Oh, OK. | |
| 02:30 | Yes, of course, that’s what you are dished up by the mainstream. | |
| 02:35 | So then you grow up and you start thinking about it. So I started critically examining it. | |
| 02:39 | I started reading about several different political platforms, not just the AfD. | |
| 02:44 | I came to the conclusion it just makes more sense. | |
| 02:49 | Each person should make up his own mind before… —Did you speak openly | |
| 02:53 | about it? At that time when you were in school? | |
| 02:57 | No, not at that time, but at work everyone knew. They knew | |
| 03:02 | I lived in Saxony-Anhalt for four years where the opinion | |
| 03:07 | was similar, but here in Lower Saxony it is difficult. I’m just really happy | |
| 03:10 | so many people are here. Honestly, I didn’t really expect that. | |
| 03:13 | In the regional elections the AfD won 8%, and for Lower Saxony that’s really good. | |
| 03:16 | OK, OK. Yes, there are really very many | |
| 03:19 | people here. That must be said. —That’s right. —Still, there are troublemakers; | |
| 03:23 | the police had to force them out of the way. | |
| 03:26 | I can’t understand that. How can they demand tolerance | |
| 03:30 | and be intolerant toward others with a different opinion? | |
| 03:35 | That’s just something I have never understood. At every demonstration that I have ever been at, | |
| 03:39 | in Berlin, in Halle an der Saale, in Magdeburg, there’s always this problem, | |
| 03:44 | and you have to be protected. —Thank you, and it’s great you’re here! | |
| 03:49 | It is my very first demonstration. —Your first? —Yes. | |
| 03:52 | So what was the factor that made you want to demonstrate? | |
| 03:55 | I was born in Dresden and grew up there. I lived through | |
| 03:59 | the fall of the Berlin Wall and was a part of the movement | |
| 04:02 | of the people in the former German Democratic Republic. | |
| 04:05 | I was forced to shoot twice at my own people because of | |
| 04:08 | the communists. An experience that marked me for life. | |
| 04:12 | I don’t want to experience that again. I want to continue | |
| 04:15 | being able to living in a free country and don’t want my children | |
| 04:21 | to end up living in a country they no longer recognize. | |
| 04:28 | I’m so excited that this is happening in Hannover. It’s sensational. This is our greeting to | |
| 04:34 | those living in East Germany. We’re standing up. —West Germany is on its way! —Exactly! | |
| 04:42 | They are fighting against the German people. | |
| 04:45 | The German people have no existence. All other nations have rights. They have a right | |
| 04:49 | to their own homeland, their culture and so on. Only the German people aren’t permitted to. | |
| 04:52 | With their horrible past, we are all aware of it. I’m Russian. | |
| 04:55 | The German people have treated this legacy with responsibility, | |
| 04:59 | this terrible legacy, but EVERY nation has such horrible episodes in its past. | |
| 05:03 | I come from Russia. What did Stalin do? What did the Americans do with the Indians? | |
| 05:09 | That’s not a reason to destroy your own people, DAMN IT! —Merkel must go! Merkel must go! | |
| 05:22 | Catchword: Climate. The Green Party seem to have more concerns about the worldwide climate | |
| 05:26 | than their own citizens in this country. —That’s right. —What do think about that? —It’s not right. | |
| 05:32 | So now we are all supposed to give up our cars in Germany, but they will all go to my country | |
| 05:35 | afterwards. I’m from Poland. Poland doesn’t have to abide by these climate rules. | |
| 05:38 | So you are from Poland? —Yes. —How long have you | |
| 05:41 | lived here in Germany? —Since ’95. —Since ’95 here? —Yes. | |
| 05:45 | What is the main reason you are here today? | |
| 05:49 | I want the Germany back that I lived in, for my children. | |
| 05:53 | A safe Germany. —How old are your children now? | |
| 05:57 | 20, 19 and 10 years old. I have three girls. —What would you say | |
| 06:02 | isn’t the same today as before? What could your children do before that | |
| 06:08 | they no longer can? For instance, because it’s dangerous? —For example, my girls aren’t allowed | |
| 06:11 | to go to Hannover anymore, to go to a disco. That’s a thing of the past. —You told them it’s over. | |
| 06:17 | We don’t have rights anymore. As a woman you can no longer move around freely. | |
| 06:24 | My reason? —Yes. —The injustice. —What injustice exactly? | |
| 06:29 | The loss of national values. —OK, yes. —The culture. | |
| 06:38 | You want Germany to retain its own culture? —Exactly. —Yes, yes. | |
| 06:42 | Super, super. Are you from near here, or did you | |
| 06:45 | come from somewhere else just for this demonstration? —Salzgitter. —Oh, OK, from Salzgitter, nice. | |
| 06:48 | How long have you lived in Germany? —30 years. —30 year? —Do you feel things have been developing | |
| 06:54 | negatively since then, here in Germany? In recent times? | |
| 06:59 | I ask myself why I left Romania back then. | |
| 07:04 | You would rather be there now, then in Germany, OK, I can understand that. OK, thank you. | |
| 07:12 | So what made you come here today? Do you live near here? —I’m from Hannover, a citizen of Hannover. | |
| 07:18 | Something needs to change. The crust must be broken open. It has already started. | |
| 07:22 | I think it is great that this is happening here, even though it’s still not enough. | |
| 07:26 | You have to consider the circumstances. You are all too familiar with it and | |
| 07:30 | every normal citizen has had the pleasure of experiencing it. I just hope it ends soon. It’s enough! |
Wow, for Hannover that’s really great! I especially liked the Russian woman with the German flag draped around her shoulders. Maybe I should buy one for myself 😉
Just one thing about the translation: The man from Dresden at 04:05 didn’t say “I was forced to shoot twice at my own people because of the communists.”, but “twice I was ALMOST forced to shoot […]”. That’s only one tiny word, but a big difference concerning the facts. The background is that during the mass demonstrations in East Germany in 1989 the government sent troops against the people, but in the end noone of the leading generals nor Honecker himself wanted to be responsible for issueing a command to shoot.