Germany's corona measures protest groups
In 2020, several new movements appeared, protesting Covid regulations like lockdowns, masks, and vaccines. For some older movements, the crisis also became a springboard for new activities.
Lateral Thinking
The Querdenken group — which can be roughly translated to lateral thinking, thinking outside the box or against the mainstream — emerged in 2020 as protest movement against the government’s Covid measures. Starting in the city of Stuttgart, they use area codes to denote local groups, like Querdenken-711 (Stuttgart), Querdenken-30 (Berlin), or Querdenken-615 (Darmstadt). They are arguably the biggest group to emerge, and host a variety of opinions. The movement’s initiator, Michael Ballweg, was formerly active as lead of Stuttgart company Media Access GmbH, and in the meantime also campaigned for the position of mayor.
Messages by Lateral Thinkers and others throughout 2020 include, as shown above: “We are loud because you stole our freedom”; holding up the constitution; “Peace/ False alarm corona”; “Heil Corona”; “Get rid of masks”; “When injustice becomes right, resistance becomes duty”; “A pandemic looks different”; “Lock down; economy/ finances/ jobs/ humans/ freedom/ life down”; “Never again fascism”; “I have a heart for freedom.”
Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, August 30, 2020.
During a Lateral Thinking protest in Stuttgart, this protester’s shirt reads, “Live in such a way that the AfD [a German right-wing party] wouldn’t like it.” August 8, 2020.
Stuttgart, August 8, 2020.
During protests, a common Lateral Thinking counter-protest group I observed was named “Stand up against racism,” a sign reading “Conspiracy theories put your health at risk. Our alternative is called solidarity.” Some of their members are part of Antifa, accusing Lateral Thinkers of harboring right-wing extremists. Other counter-protests were organized by Grandmas Against Right (Omas gegen Rechts) and The Party (Die Partei).
Counter-protest of the “Stand up against racism” movement at Frankfurt Opera Square, October 31, 2020 — in this case, against a group called Resistance 4.0 (Widerstand 4.0).
Red Alert
The Alarmstufe Rot (Red Alert) movement consists of members of the event, arts, theater and clubs industry. They don’t protest such measures as masks (and would generally wear them during protests), but rather want to raise awareness of the situation their industry has been put in due to regulations, demanding help and solutions for the future. During protests I observed, they did not march alongside the Lateral Thinkers.
“Stop the wave of bankruptcies in the event industry — Cultural diversity under threat.” Frankfurt, September 26, 2020.
Hashtagged VigilForTheNeighborhood (MahnwacheFürDenKiez), protest by the head of musical stages in the city of Hamburg. November 4, 2020.
“Dancing is healthy!” This event, while not under the banner of Red Alarm, was also organized by the event and clubs industry. With the motto “Save the event industry,” some participants carried a coffin. Berlin, July 24, 2020.
QAnon
The QAnon movement precedes the coronavirus measures protests, but is sometimes seen nearby (or embedded within) protests of groups such as the Lateral Thinkers. Their signs may prominently feature a “Q” or the letters WWG1WGA, “Where We Go One, We Go All” (see Wikipedia).
A protest by Lateral Thinking and others. At the top of the umbrella, the German idiom “Things always turn out different than the way you thought“ becomes “Things always turn out differently when you think,” with a reference to measures-critical German news site Rubikon. Berlin Victory Column, August 29, 2020.
Corona Rebels
The Corona Rebellen Düsseldorf is a smaller group (apparently from the town of Düsseldorf) which I observed as part of the Lateral Thinker protests. At at least two times, they were part of, or nearby, groups at the more dense front pushing through police lines.
Leipzig, July 11, 2020.
Attila Hildmann
Hildmann rose to some TV and book fame in Germany as vegan cook and activist (see Wikipedia). In the corona crisis, he emerged as critic of the government measures, protesting with his followers. In his Telegram group, by now he criticizes the Lateral Thinkers as too soft in their approach, asking for more radical approaches. With Telegram statements such as “People under 65 get murderous vaccinations based on their genetic profile,” supermarkets and brands have cut commercial ties with him. Berlin police at one point searched his appartment.
In groups like German subreddits, Hildmann received an ongoing series of nicknames made up of puns combining Nazi era names with his vegan background, such as “Avocadolf.”
Police prepared for an announced, but ruled illegal, protest event by Hildmann — he didn’t show up. Berlin Dome, July 25, 2020.
Meditation Groups
Some groups put a focus on meditation, music, and messages of love and peace. The protest pictured below, from Mary’s Square in Munich, was titled “Mindfulness and Meditation Demo.” A single counter-protester, shown at the end, holds up a sign reading, “Constitutional rights: Yes. Conspiracy thinking: No.”
Parent Groups
Several groups, like Parents stand up (Eltern stehen auf) or Families in crisis (Familien in der Krise) particularly protest such things as school lockdowns, masks for kids, or vaccinations. I’ve often observed them and their flyers as part of Lateral Thinking demonstrations.
Several messages were put on the town square’s well in Frankfurt, like “Social, not digital.” January 18, 2021.
Splinter Groups and Smaller Movements
Above gave a bird’s eye view, though there are many other groups and sub-groups. Resistance 4.0 (Widerstand 4.0) regularly protests in Frankfurt’s opera square on Saturday afternoons, often with signs opposing 5G technology. The Corona Info Tour travels to different cities by bus, featuring speakers such as Samuel Eckert and Bodo Schiffmann. Democratic Resistance (Demokratischer Widerstand) with Anselm Lenz and Hendrick Sodenkamp organizes rallies and publishes a protest newspaper popular with Lateral Thinkers. Germany’s Sovereign Citizens movement (Reichsbürger) is also often seen near protests.
Separately, owners of venues like shops, restaurants or barbers also organize protest. One of them is called “We are opening” (Wir machen auf), urging shops to reopen despite lockdown regulations; a spin-off called itself “We are opening… your eyes [to our dire situation]” (Wir machen auf_merksam).
People walk by the police’s water cannon near a rally by the Corona Info Tour bus. The water cannon wasn’t used that day (it was used against both Antifa, and Lateral Thinkers, a few days prior.) Frankfurt, November 19, 2020.