I went to the NPD (Neo-Nazi) demonstration on Saturday (click on the pic to make it bigger), and while I didn't see any real crazy stuff going on per se, it was still a really strange feeling to actually be witnessing and in a way participating in something like that. I mean, I've always rolled my eyes when people tell me that Germany is where the Nazis live...but as I learned that Saturday, there definitely are still Nazis here, and not just five or six of them!

At the demonstration, there were probably no more than 50 or 60 NPD members, but as you can see in the picture, there were CRAZY amounts of police--I heard there were 4,000 there, which I'm pretty sure is an exaggeration, but there were definitely policemen dispersed all throughout the city. The police were also (understandibly) hyper-sensitive, so that if any protestors did something like throw a bottle at the demonstration, a group of the police would break off and chase that person down, tackling him and arresting him--I saw that happen several times, which was pretty unsettling. I also heard on the news that protestors set cars and dumpsters on fire, and there were also a few big fights--luckily I missed all of that!

Anyway, that is my summary of what the demonstration was like. I'm glad I went, despite the warning from my advisor--when else will I get the experience to see something like that? Hopefully not any time soon....