For the fifth weekend in a row, protests against the far-right were announced all over Germany to take place on Saturday, February 10. As in previous weeks, these were not confined to the big cities, which are more used to such gatherings, but also included dozens of smaller towns, unaccustomed to this type of demonstrations.

Among them was Gotha. On February 10, over 1,000 people turned out to say "no" to the far right in this charming city of 45,000 inhabitants, located almost equidistant from Berlin and Frankfurt, in the heart of the state of Thuringia. It was a first. "In the nearly 30 years I've lived here, I've taken part in quite a few protests against the fascists. But there have never been more than 200 of us at the most. There's so many people, it's totally unheard of, and I must say it's great to see so many new faces," said Andrea Skerhut, a dapper 60-something wearing a red beret and carrying a banner reading: "Human rights rather than right-wing men."

'Nazis could rule our region'

Erika Menke was one of these "new faces." Aged 75, this smiling little lady recalled that her last protests "date back to 1989-1990, at the time of reunification." Since then, she said, she's always been "very interested in politics," but "never felt compelled to take to the streets to make her voice heard." Now she does. "For the first time this year, Nazis could rule our region. This idea is unbearable for me. That's why I'm here today. The situation is too serious for us to sit at home with our arms crossed," said the pensioner.

It was a sentiment shared by all. Young or old, accustomed or not to this type of gathering, all those who came to protest in Gotha on Saturday had the September elections in mind. Along with Saxony and Brandenburg, Thuringia is one of the three Länder that will be renewing its regional parliament and, as in the other two, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is in the lead, with over 30% of voting intentions. In no other region does the AfD reach such levels. And in no other region does it defend such extreme positions. Headed by Björn Höcke, the leader of the party's radical wing, the AfD's Thuringian federation has been placed under surveillance by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic intelligence service, and several of its leaders are known to have links with the neo-Nazi movement.

With seven months to go before the regional elections, everyone is saying the same thing: It's "urgent to act." But how? By protesting, for a start. The general consensus is that the mass rallies that have been taking place since mid-January, and in which over 3 million people have already taken part, are absolutely essential. "All these years, AfD people have been saying over and over again: 'We are the people.' By taking to the streets en masse today, we're proving them wrong. For too long, we have remained a silent majority. Now we're determined to make ourselves heard," said Jan Brouwers, a 29-year-old student for whom "it's essential not to let the idea take hold that far-right factions are in the majority, when in fact they're just louder."

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