German police in the eastern city of Chemnitz on Saturday halted a march by far-right groups protesting last week's fatal stabbing of a man, allegedly by two migrants.
Some 6,000 supporters of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the anti-Islam PEGIDA group were stopped by riot police.
A rival demonstration in Chemnitz was organized by leftist groups who accuse the AfD and PEGIDA of exploiting the stabbing of the 35-year-old German man to stoke hatred against migrants and refugees.
Police block the right-wing demonstration following the killing of a German man in Chemnitz in eastern Germany, September 1, 2018. /VCG Photo
Rival rallies
On Saturday, riot police chased black-clad anti-fascist protesters who had tried to make their way toward the far-right crowd, whose members waved the German flag, sang the national anthem and shouted, "Merkel must go!"
Soon after, dozens of far-right protesters ignored police orders to stay put and made their way past a line of police cars blocking a major street in the city center to prevent the rival marches from crossing paths.
The government lent its support to the pro-migrant rally through Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who tweeted: "The Second World War started 79 years ago. Germany caused unimaginable suffering in Europe. If once again people are parading today in the streets making Nazi salutes, our past history forces us to resolutely defend democracy."
A demonstrator holds up a heart-shaped poster reading "Heart instead of agitation" during a counter-march in Chemnitz, September 1, 2018. /VCG Photo
Political sea-change
Merkel's decision in 2015 to welcome a million people seeking asylum, mainly Muslims from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, has dramatically changed Germany's political and social landscape.
The AfD, which says Islam is incompatible with the German constitution, entered the national parliament for the first time in an election last year.
Last Sunday and Monday saw outbreaks of street violence, triggered by the arrest of one Iraqi protester and one Syrian, suspected of stabbing a 35-year-old carpenter to death.
Following the arrests, mobs launched random street attacks against people they took to be foreigners, including an Afghan, a Syrian and a Bulgarian man.
Images of skinheads raising their arms in Nazi salutes, chasing anyone they saw as outsiders and wrestling with riot police shocked many in Germany and around the world.
AfD leaders said the far-right riots that followed the stabbing in Chemnitz were understandable.
(With input from Reuters.)
(Cover: Demonstrators hold up placards showing portraits of victims killed by refugees during a protest, September 1, 2018. VCG Photo)