Demonstrators used techno to drown out far-right rallies in BerlinBerlin Protests Techno

Demonstrators used techno to drown out far-right rallies in Berlin

The power of techno may have been used for its greatest good yet, as recent rallies in Berlin found far-right protestors thwarted by club beats as they marched through the capital. The self-proclaimed anti-immigrant, anti-Islam political party Alternative for Germany won its first seats in parliament last year, and the recent march marks the first public show of strength by the far-right group since it became the largest opposition to Chancellor Angela Merkel. Luckily AfD was met by the resistance of thousands of counter-protestors including a union of different advocacy groups, civil and student organizations, as well as political parties, lead by an alliance of over 100 clubs from across Berlin.

Packing the River Spree with boats and floats as well as a caravan of DJ-equipped trucks in the streets, Berlin’s legendary club circuit came together to “bass away” the far-right, drowning out “we are the people” calls with proper warehouse fare and “the whole of Berlin is against the AfD” chants. Counter-demonstrators waved rainbow flags, touting signs with messages like, “no to racism” and “No dance floors of Nazis.” A joint statement from the coalition of clubs reads,

“The Berlin club culture is everything that Nazis are not. We are progressive, queer, feminist, anti-racist, inclusive, colorful and we have unicorns.”

Thousands of counter-protestors reportedly joined in the action and police were deployed to keep the demonstrations peaceful. Berlin reportedly deployed 2,000 officers and eventually closed bridges across the city to section off protests throughout the weekend. Don’t make us deploy the unicorns, Nazis. We won’t hesitate to use them.

Featured Image: DPA

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