Germany Rises Against AfD’s ‘Generation Germany’

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Frankfurt
• Nov 30, 2025
• 6

Germany on Saturday witnessed one of its largest anti-far-right demonstrations in recent years, as nearly 25,000 people gathered in the university city of Giessen, near Frankfurt, to oppose the launch of the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) new youth wing, “Generation Germany.”

The protest began outside the venue where the AfD formally unveiled the new organization. Demonstrators chanted anti-fascist slogans, beat drums and blew whistles as police deployed nearly 5,000 officers to maintain order. Tensions escalated when a section of protesters began throwing stones, injuring several policemen. Authorities responded with water cannons and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

The massive mobilization reflects a growing public alarm over what many view as the AfD’s drift toward Nazi-era ideological revival. Protesters argued that the creation of a new youth wing is an attempt to rebrand and re-mobilize extremist thinking after the previous AfD youth organization, Junge Alternative (JA), was dissolved earlier this year following its classification as extremist by German intelligence. JA had been accused of racist rhetoric and associations with neo-Nazi groups.

Germany’s domestic security agency also labelled the AfD itself a right-wing extremist entity in May, prompting public debate and legal challenges from the party. While some political voices have demanded the party’s ban, Chancellor Friedrich Mertz rejected the idea, arguing that “you can’t ban 10 million AfD voters.”

Despite its controversies, the AfD maintains strong support among younger demographics, driven largely by the hardline positions of leaders like Alice Weidel, known for her anti-immigration stance. Weidel dismissed the Giessen protesters as “anarchists,” while party co-leader Tino Chrupalla said the new youth wing would “learn from past mistakes,” a remark that critics interpret as an attempt to normalize extremist tendencies under a new label.

The Giessen protest underscores Germany’s intensifying struggle to balance democratic freedoms with rising concerns over radicalization—an issue that continues to shape national political discourse.