The streets of Erfurt, Germany, erupted into chaos over the weekend as thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in a bid to block a far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party conference. The demonstrations, which drew an estimated 20,000 participants, aimed to prevent AfD delegates from attending the event where co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla were set to be re-elected. The protesters' efforts came as the centennial of a Nazi party conference was marked in nearby Weimar, where Adolf Hitler introduced the Hitler Youth movement – an unfortunate coincidence that has sparked widespread outrage.
Led by the "Resistance" alliance, demonstrators employed creative tactics to disrupt proceedings, including abseiling from a motorway bridge and glueing themselves to tram tracks. The situation turned heated at times, with nearly 100 offences reported, predominantly property damage through graffiti. While police described the demonstration as "mostly peaceful," footage emerged of officers using batons on protesters.
The timing of the AfD conference has been widely condemned by historians and politicians, who accuse the party of exploiting Germany's painful history for its own gain. The AfD, however, has dismissed these criticisms as a "compulsive weaponisation of history." Among the protesters were prominent figures, including federal environment minister Carsten Schneider and Thuringia's interior minister Georg Maier, who joined a separate march organised by the Standing Together alliance.
Despite their valiant efforts to disrupt proceedings, an AfD spokesperson confirmed that 540 delegates managed to reach the conference centre before 5 am, allowing the congress to begin on schedule. In his opening address, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla attacked the protesters for opposing "democratic decision-making," asserting that party conferences are a "guaranteed right." He called on supporters to help the party achieve an absolute majority in upcoming Saxony-Anhalt state elections, framing it as a signal to "democracy-haters."