Berlin protests: Far-right and anti-Nazi activists clash on anniversary of Rudolf Hess death
At least one police officer injured as demonstrators hurl bottles and stones
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Hundreds of anti-Nazi campaigners clashed with far-right activists in Germany marking the anniversary of the suicide of Adolf Hitler's former deputy, Rudolf Hess.
Thousands of police were out in force in Berlin to prevent violence, and at least one officer was injured as stones and bottles were thrown.
Many of the far-right activists hoisted the red, white and black flag of Hitler's Third Reich.
One group carried a sign that proclaimed: "I regret nothing: National Socialists Berlin."
Police said there were reports of injuries when the counter-demonstrators threw missiles at the far-right demonstrators.
The anti-Nazi activists also staged non-violent sit-ins at crossroads along the march route in the neighbourhood of Lichtenberg, while others gathered to shout at the neo-Nazi demonstrators.
A separate march was staged in the Berlin suburb of Spandau, where Hess served a life sentence handed down at the Nuremberg war crimes trials. Fewer than 50 people attended.
Germany has tough laws that ban the use of symbols of the Nazi regime, such as the swastika flag, but the far-right has grown stronger since the arrival from 2015 onwards of more than a million mostly Muslim migrants.
While far-right activity remains a fringe phenomenon in Germany, it has been behind high-profile crimes, most recently 10 murders committed by the so-called National Socialist Underground, whose sole surviving leader was sentenced to life in prison last month.
The clashes took place about 40 miles south of the town of Meseberg, where chancellor Angela Merkel was meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rudolf Hess, who committed suicide aged 93 in Spandau Prison, west Berlin, in August 1987, was responsible for signing into law the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which deprived the Jews of Germany of their rights.
He made a dramatic solo flight to Scotland in 1941, claiming, when captured, to want to negotiate an end to the Second World War. After four years, he was sent back to Nuremberg for trial, where he was sentenced to life in prison.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments