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PEGIDA

PEGIDA - Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident (or "West") - is a Dresden-based movement which has been organizing public demonstrations since October 2014.

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All Content on this topic

Anti Pegida Demo in Dresden

Dresden pro-migrant rally attracts thousands

Around 2,000 people turned out to call for tolerance while up to 8,000 far-right PEGIDA supporters took to the streets.
February 6, 2016
Deutschland Heidenau Besuch Flüchtlingsunterkunft Merkel und Stanislaw Tillich

Germany's Tillich challenges Pegida

Deter hate speech, urges Germany's Saxony state Premier Tillich ahead of a Pegida rally.
February 6, 2016
Protests in Vienna

Protests across Vienna against right-wing ball

An annual dance in Vienna has drawn heavy protests, with left-wing demonstrators rallying at several locations.
January 30, 2016
Firefighters attend to burnt out cars in Dresden, Germany

Cars blaze in Dresden as PEGIDA protests

Ten vehicles were set alight in Dresden on the sidelines of a PEGIDA protest, according to police.
January 26, 2016
Tatjana Festerling Pegida

Pegida meets with European allies near Prague

Germany's Pegida has signed a declaration with like-minded groups on the holding joint protests in February.
January 23, 2016
Signs showing a mosque crossed out during a street protest. Archive photo from 2014.

Muslim faith 'irrelevant to these drunken men'

Aiman Mayzek of Germany's Central Council of Muslims warns against division in German society.
January 12, 2016
Deutschland, Gegendemonstration zu Legida

City of Leipzig split by PEGIDA

Demonstrations for and against anti-Islamist groups PEGIDA and its local chapter LEGIDA have taken place in Leipzig
January 12, 2016
Deutschland, Hooligans randalieren in Leipzig

Thousands in Leipzig protest against LEGIDA

Thousands have gathered in Leipzig to take part in protests for and against the right-wing LEGIDA group.
January 11, 2016
Cologne. Pegida and police

Cologne protests

Could it be that both protesting sides in Cologne are more similar than they want to believe?
January 10, 2016
Heiko Maas SPD

Minister: Cologne attacks planned

Minister of Justice Heiko Maas has said he believes the sexual assaults in Cologne were 'coordinated and prepared.'
January 10, 2016
Köln Pegida rechte Demonstranten

Frustration as police end Cologne protests

PEGIDA members vented their anger in Cologne at Germany's migrant policies, clashing with police and counter-protesters.
PoliticsJanuary 9, 2016
Köln Pegida Polizei Wasserwerfer

Police end protests over attacks in Cologne

Police in the western German city of Cologne have broken up a protest by the "anti-Islamization" group PEGIDA.
January 9, 2016
Deutschland Pegida

Germany's nervous mainstream shifts rightward

A new xenophobic sentiment is on the rise in Germany, despite the welcome many have given to refugees.
January 2, 2016
Anti-terror police in Munich

Munich stations reopen after terror threat

Police in Munich remained on high alert throughout the night following a serious terror warning for New Year's Eve.
January 1, 2016
Deutschland Pegida

Pegida: Top of the pops

"Together we're strong" by German anti-immigrant movement Pegida tops German charts, but is widely mocked.
December 30, 2015
Deutschland Politiker Volker Beck in Bochum

Lawmaker files charges against Pegida

Volker Beck had received hundreds of threatening comments on Facebook.
December 29, 2015
Sonnenfinsternis 2015 Großbritannien

Google ranks Germans' dark online interests

Topping the list of Germany's most-Googled phrases in 2015 was "Sonnenfinsternis" or "solar eclipse."
December 16, 2015
Afd Bundesparteitag in Hannover Abstimmung

Activists sabotage AfD funding

Left-leaning activists have taken to the Internet to manipulate PayPal and make the AfD lose money.
December 11, 2015
LEGIDA-Demonstration in Leipzig

Far right involved in most anti-refugee protests

The German Interior Ministry believes that PEGIDA-related demos around the country were "controlled" by the far-right.
December 3, 2015
Cottbus Britta Hilpert Reporterin Pegida Demo

'I am somebody who asks questions'

Television reporter Britta Hilpert was astonished to be jostled and surrounded as she tried to report on a demo.
November 27, 2015
Molenbeek

Molenbeek's lost generation

The majority of Muslims in the Molenbeek district of Brussels are peaceful, but a few worry DW's Jaafar Abdul-Karim.
November 24, 2015
Deutschland Russische Fahne bei Pegida-Demonstration in Dresden

PEGIDA's Russian ties

The anti-Islam PEGIDA movement in Dresden is not just xenophobic - it's also friendly toward Russia. But to what extent?
November 22, 2015
People attend an anti-immigration demonstration organized by PEGIDA

Dismay over PEGIDA

The xenophobic PEGIDA movement has had a dramatic effect on Dresden and left city officials disheartened.
November 17, 2015
Dresden - Pegida Aufmarsch

First PEGIDA march since Paris attacks

Thousands of people have gathered in the city of Dresden for the weekly rally of "anti-Islamization" group PEGIDA.
November 16, 2015
A group of people, led by far right movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) gather on a demonstration against "Islam" and immigrants at Neumarkt Square in Dresden, Germany on October 02, 2015 (Photo:Picture alliance/AA/M. Kaman)

Outcry over Pegida march on November 9

Far-right Pegida group is to hold rallies in Dresden and other German cities despite the Kristallnacht anniversary.
November 9, 2015
Gedenken an die Pogromnacht in Berlin

A significant day in German history

November 9 is remembered both positively and negatively in Germany.
HistoryNovember 9, 2015
Dresden Pegida Demonstration Lutz Bachmann

Nazi comparisons fly in Germany's PEGIDA row

The PEGIDA leader has accused Justice Minister Maas of being "one of the worst intellectual arsonists since Goebbels."
November 3, 2015
Deutschland Pegida-Demonstration in Dresden

PEGIDA numbers on the decline

Despite a drop in numbers at Dresden's PEGIDA march, the right-wing group is showing no sign of disappearing just yet.
November 3, 2015

WorldLink: Identity and acceptance

On this week’s show: A DW reporter is attacked by anti-immigration protesters, whilst another colleague is invited for tea and cupcakes with a Syrian refugee and his German housemates. Also, the woman who shamed US Athletics into letting women run marathons and the plight of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.
October 30, 201554:59 min

DW’s Jaafar Abdul Karim on being attacked by Pegida supporters

DW journalist Jaafar Abdul Karim was attacked whilst reporting from a Pegida rally in Dresden. The anti-immigration movement has changed the face of a city for which Jaafar has a good deal of personal affection.
October 30, 201510:59 min
Deutschland Dresden Pegida Anhänger

PEGIDA rally draws thousands in Dresden

Anti-immigration group PEGIDA mobilizes a large number of supporters once again in the eastern German city of Dresden.
October 26, 2015
HOGESA Demonstration Köln

Cologne police out in force ahead of demos

Police in the western German city of Cologne are bracing for potential violence as seven demonstrations take place.
October 25, 2015
Protesters gesture towards members of the media as they march through the streets of Cologne during a demonstration by German far-right groups, October 26, 2014 (Phott: REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay)

Cologne braces for new far-right HoGeSa rally

Thousands of police officers have been deployed in Cologne for Sunday's far-right demonstrations.
October 24, 2015
Angela Merkel

Merkel faces growing party pressure over refugees

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has said members of the ruling party are unhappy over Berlin's refugee policy.
October 24, 2015
AfD - Bundesparteitag der Alternative für Deutschland

Uniting conservatives and the far-right

Björn Höcke of Alternative for Germany awoke uncomfortable memories when he invoked "a thousand years of Germany."
October 23, 2015
A demonstrator shows a placard showing Angela Merkel dressed as Hitler at PEGIDA's first anniversary rally in Dresden.

German society divided

It's time to take a stand against xenophobia in Germany, says DW's Felix Steiner.
SocietyOctober 23, 201505:44 min
Migrants and refugees keep themselves warm around a fire after crossing the border from Croatia in Rigonce, Slovenia, October 22, 2015.

WorldLink: Critical mass

Strain in Slovenia, warnings of a rise in xenophobic attacks in Germany, plus Israel's cycle of violence.
SocietyOctober 23, 201555:00 min
Deutschland Pegida Kundgebung in Dresden

Quadriga - Germany's refugee crisis - Has the mood turned ugly?

As Germany’s refugee crisis continues, politicians and helpers are coming under an increasing threat from the militant right. In Cologne last weekend, a women standing in the city’s mayoral election was badly wounded in a knife attack.
PoliticsOctober 22, 201526:03 min
Dresden Pegida Demonstration Polizei

What PEGIDA's like up close

DW's Kathleen Schuster reports about her experiences covering the PEGIDA anniversary on the ground in Dresden.
October 21, 2015
Author, Akif Pirincci

Turkish-born PEGIDA speaker slammed over speech

A Turkish-born German author, Akif Pirincci, has faced a backlash of criticism after his speech at a PEGIDA rally.
October 20, 2015
Deutschland Pegida Kundgebungen zum Pediga-Jahrestag in Dresden

Berlin unites against PEGIDA

Important political figures from the German cabinet to the EU parliament have slammed anti-Islam group PEGIDA.
October 20, 2015
Deutschland Pegida Kundgebungen zum Pediga-Jahrestag in Dresden

PEGIDA concentration camp quip outrage

German politicians reacted with horror at the far-right tone and occasional violence at Monday's PEGIDA demo in Dresden.
October 20, 2015

Jaafar meets 'PEGIDA'

In his third videoblog DW reporter Jaafar gets attacked by PEGIDA demonstrators.
October 20, 201503:38 min
Screenshot Jaafars Videoblog 2 NUR ALS BILDZITAT VERWENDEN

DW reporter attacked at PEGIDA rally

Deutsche Welle television reporter Jaafar Abdul Karim has been attacked at a rally organized by PEGIDA activists
October 20, 2015
Dresden - Pegida-Anhänger versammeln sich zum Jahrestag

PEGIDA marks first anniversary

Thousands flocked to Dresden to mark PEGIDA's first anniversary, amid fears over skyrocketing refugee numbers.
October 19, 2015
PEGIDA demonstration, Dresden, October 19, 2015

PEGIDA marches on 'first anniversary' in Dresden

At least 15,000 people have marched through Dresden to mark the "anniversary" of the first PEGIDA demonstration.
October 19, 2015
Dresden Pegida Demonstration Menschenmenge

Right-wing populism on the rise

Anti-immigration sentiment in Germany is increasing and taking on more violent contours, a psychologist warns..
October 19, 2015
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere

Interior Minister condemns PEGIDA

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere condemns the anti-Islamist group PEGIDA, branding its leaders 'rabble rousers.'
October 19, 2015
Dresden Pegida Demonstration Menschenmenge

Mainstream awakening

Far-right parties are benefiting from the surge in refugee figures.
October 14, 2015
Deutschland Pegida Kundgebung in Dresden

PEGIDA gallows under investigation

An investigation into a mock gallows for German Chancellor Merkel seen at a far-right demo has opened in Dresden.
October 13, 2015