German neo-Nazi concert forced to relocate
October 6, 2018
The organizers of a controversial neo-Nazi event in the eastern German state of Thuringia have been forced to find a new location for their right-wing concert at the last minute.
The concert, which features white supremacist and right-wing extremist rock music, was supposed to take place on Friday near the small town of Magdala, located around 18 kilometers (11 miles) outside of the city of Weimar.
The district court in Weimar barred the event's organizers from using an access road that led to the concert location shortly before the event was set to begin, police announced on Twitter.
The road, which was the only path to the area where the concert was due to be held, is owned by the municipality of Magdala, which withdrew permission for vehicle access.
Equipment for the concert that had already been set up in Magdala is now stranded at the end of the blocked road.
Organizers quickly moved to the nearby town of Apolda, where some 750 people attended a rally in the town square, accompanied by numerous police and security officials.
Some 60 people gathered in Apolda to protest against the neo-Nazi event, reported local public broadcaster MDR.
Hundreds attend neo-Nazi concert
Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier described the last-minute decision to close the concert in Magdala as a success, saying it will prevent money generated at the event from flowing into the right-wing extremist scene.
He added that police will prevent organizers from attempting to retrieve equipment that was already set up in Magdala for the concert.
An effort by local authorities to bar alcohol from being sold at the event, however, was rejected by the court, reported MDR.
Maier criticized the Weimar court's decision to allow the event to continue to take place in a new location. "The citizens of Apolda are now the ones who will suffer," he said.
The two-day event, planned to include concerts and marches, will continue on Saturday. Police are still expecting thousands of neo-Nazis from Germany and other countries in Europe to attend the event.
The state of Thuringia has become a center for right-wing extremist concerts in recent years, with 59 such events in 2017. Last summer, some 6,000 neo-Nazis attended a concert in the town of Themar.