coragem na face do preconceito

A City Mobilizes Against Neo-Nazis

Thousands of left-wing, anti-Nazi demonstrators successfully blocked the streets around the train station in Dresden's Neustadt district where the neo-Nazis had been given permission to start their march.

Meanwhile, across the river in Dresden's Baroque historical city center, more than 10,000 residents created a human chain in protest against right-wing extremism and neo-Nazis.

"Dresden doesn't want them and these groups do not belong here," said Dresden Mayor Helma Orosz. Later, when news emerged that the march would not take place, the mayor, a member of the conservative Christian Democrat Union (CDU), told local residents: "I am proud of you."

The left wing's approach, according to Katja Kipping, the deputy head of Germany's far-left Left Party and Dresden resident, would be to compel police to cancel the neo-Nazi parade for security reasons. She continued: "Feb. 13 should not be used to distract from Nazi crimes. Germany started the war -- it just came home on Feb. 13."