For the first time, Königs Wusterhausen, located southeast of Berlin, will celebrate Christopher Street Day this coming Saturday, August 29. For safety, police will be on duty — also because a protest by a right-wing extremist youth group has been announced. The organizers of the CSD expect at least 500 participants.
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Jan Redmann (CDU) also plans to take part in the CSD march in Königs Wusterhausen, a town of about 40,000 residents in the Dahme-Spreewald district. This is seen as an important sign of solidarity, especially after the attack at the CSD in Berlin in July, according to co-organizer André-Eike Schwalbach. Mayor Michaela Wiezorek (Bündnis 21) is also expected to attend.
Also on the coming Saturday, the town of Ludwigsfelde will celebrate its second CSD — roughly 30 kilometers from Königs Wusterhausen. Through October, additional demonstrations by the queer community will follow in other regions of Brandenburg.
The Jägertruppe Berlin-Brandenburg called for a protest in Königs Wusterhausen. “We say no to the CSD,” it stated on Instagram. The Jägertruppe is, according to the domestic intelligence service, one of several action-oriented, right-wing extremist youth groups that have emerged on social media. Time and again, counteractions by far-right groups occur at queer community events across Germany.
Minister Redmann recently said: “Anyone participating in Christopher Street Days (CSD) should be able to do so without fear.” At the same time, he argued that in small towns in Brandenburg it takes more courage for queer people to be open about themselves. Redmann is openly gay and speaks frankly about his sexuality.
