Thousands of Germans gathered in Berlin and other cities on Saturday to protest the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of the country’s general election on February 23. The protests, held under the banner “sea of light against the right turn,” aimed to highlight concerns over the party’s growing influence and the threat of right-wing extremism in the nation.

At Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, demonstrators lit their phones, blew whistles, and sang anti-fascist songs. In Cologne, protesters held banners denouncing the AfD, which has become the second-largest party in pre-election polls, behind the Union bloc of center-right parties led by Friedrich Merz. The protests coincided with the AfD’s election campaign rally in Halle, where party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla addressed a crowd of around 4,500.

In the midst of these protests, AfD received a boost from tech mogul Elon Musk, who addressed the rally remotely. Musk’s comments, particularly on Germany’s historical guilt, sparked a wave of backlash. The billionaire, known for his outspoken views, told the crowd, “There is too much focus on past guilt [in Germany], and we need to move beyond that,” referencing the country’s World War II history and the Holocaust. He added, “Children should not feel guilty for the sins of their parents — their great-grandparents even.”

Musk’s remarks immediately drew criticism, with Dani Dayan, the chair of Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, condemning his statement. On social media platform X, Dayan wrote, “The remembrance and acknowledgment of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society. Failing to do so is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany.”

The timing of Musk’s comments raised eyebrows, coming just a day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Musk’s remarks also came after accusations earlier in the week that he made a Nazi salute at a U.S. event celebrating President Donald Trump’s inauguration. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Musk, calling the accusations “false smears,” Musk later posted a series of Nazi-themed jokes on X, further fueling the uproar.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)