In downtown Rostock, almost 3,000 people took part in two simultaneous but different rallies on the Neuer Markt on Monday evening. According to police information, around 2,500 demonstrators took part in an event organized by the network “Rostock nazifrei – Colorful instead of brown e.V.” had called.

According to the police, less than 100 meters away, directly opposite the town hall, around 350 participants in a so-called Monday demonstration gathered under the motto “2024 – Where does Germany stand after 2 years of traffic light politics. What awaits the people in this country”. The AfD state leader and member of the Bundestag Leif-Erik Holm, who was booed by the counter-demonstrators, also spoke at this rally.

The police separated both sides with a massive contingent of emergency services. Overall, both events were peaceful, said the operations manager. In a brief incident, a protester attempted to pull Holm from a speaker’s podium, but was unable to do so.