Hundreds of thousands throughout Germany protest against far-right

An ongoing wave of large protests against right-wing extremism across Germany continued on Saturday, some drawing crowds in the hundreds of thousands, also coincided with the country's observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day which was marked by flags flying at half-mast nationwide.

Some 100,000 people attended a large demonstration against right-wing extremism in Dusseldorf, police said.

Up to 65,000 people took part in the demonstration march through the city at its peak, with up to 100,000 then joining the main rally later on, a police spokesman told dpa.

It was one of around 30 similar rallies planned in the state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).

Its main focus was opposition to the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) party, whose anti-immigration platform has driven much of its growth and electoral success in recent months.

Marchers moved through the city under the motto "Against the AfD - We won't be silent. We will not look away. We act!"

The wave of protests was triggered by revelations from the Correctiv group of investigative journalists about a meeting in Potsdam outside Berlin of radical right-wingers on November 25.

The meeting was attended by several AfD politicians as well as individual members of the mainstream conservative opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and the far-right WerteUnion.

The former head of the far-right, white supremacist Identitarian Movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, said he had spoken about "remigration" at the meeting.

When right-wing extremists use the term, they usually mean that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave the country - even under duress.

Correctiv said Sellner named three target groups: asylum seekers, foreigners with the right to stay and "non-assimilated citizens."

Democracy in Germany is under pressure, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told a rally in Osnabrück, warning of the dangers of the far right.

The AfD wants to change the system, he said, addressing 25,000 people in his home town. "That means nothing other than they want to go back to the dark times of racial madness, discrimination, inequality and injustice," Pistorius said.

Pistorius also drew a comparison with the Weimar Republic, which did not perish because of its enemies, but because of the weakness of its friends.

"Today we know better, history must not be allowed to repeat itself," said Pistorius, as protesters applauded.

More than 10,000 people joined another protest against right-wing extremism in Kiel, with people crowding into the Baltic Sea port city's historic main square in support of democracy and solidarity.

"Our democracy is more stable than the democracy of 100 years ago, but let's not be too sure," said Kiel Mayor Ulf Kämpfer, who also attended.

The German Trade Union Confederation, the organizer of the rally, counted more than 15,000 participants, while the police spoke of 11,500 people.

Rallies were also held in larger cities as well as in smaller towns. Police said there were around 8,000 demonstrators in Lübeck, some 6,000 in Kaiserslautern and around 4,000 in Worms.

There were around 12,500 people in Aachen and more than 12,000 in Marburg, officials said.

In Weimar, the police counted 1,500 people, while the organisers spoke of 2,000.

In the small town of Singen, the police counted 4,000 demonstrators, while in Sigmaringen, a rally drew around 2,000 people.

In Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate, 1,500 people turned out, officials said, while there were around 4,000 at a similar rally in Elmshorn.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his support for the demonstrations, but called for further commitment to democracy.

"I am delighted and grateful that the democratic centre of society has woken up," Steinmeier told regional public broadcaster SWR.

However, these demonstrations could not replace political engagement, Steinmeier said when asked how the protests would continue. His plea to dissatisfied people was to get off the sofa and get actively involved in the community.

Democracy thrives on the commitment of its citizens, he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also welcomed the numerous demonstrations against right-wing extremism in recent days and weeks.

"Our country is on its feet right now. Millions of citizens are taking to the streets," he said in his weekly video. It is the cohesion of democrats that makes democracy strong, he said.

"Our democracy is not God-given. It is man-made. It is strong when we support it. And it needs us when it is under attack."

There are growing concerns about elections to be held later this year, with voters set to choose new state parliaments in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in September.

The AfD could become the strongest party in all three states, even by a considerable margin, polls suggest.

In two nationwide surveys conducted by the Insa and Forsa institutes for the newspaper Bild and RTL/ntv broadcasting networks at the end of the week, the AfD lost popularity but remained the second strongest force after the CDU/CSU conservative bloc.

In Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, the AfD is categorized as confirmed right-wing extremist by the domestic intelligence services in those states; nationwide, it is classified as a suspected case of right-wing extremism.

Alexander Throm, spokesman on domestic affairs for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, warned that the effect of the protests on potential voters should not be overestimated.

It is important to engage politically with the AfD and its ideas and not give extremist behaviour a chance, he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

"This can only succeed with a policy from the federal government that takes the concerns and needs of citizens seriously and does not continue to pour oil on the fire of frustration out of sheer ignorance."