Celebrities join Berlin anti-racism rally

The march was described as "a revolt of the decent"

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of Germans, headed by political and religious leaders, have staged a rally in Berlin to condemn neo-Nazi violence.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and leaders of all the other major political parties joined trade unionists, bishops and Jewish leaders in a march against intolerance through the centre of the capital.

Chancellor Schroeder called the rally against the rising number of racial attacks in his country as a "revolt of the decent."

Celebrities joined politicians in the march, including tennis greats Steffi Graf and Boris Becker, as well as Nobel prize winning writer Guenter Grass.

GALLERY Images from the rally     AUDIO CNN's Chris Burns explains the significance of the rally 1.32mB/128 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   [an error occurred while processing this directive]   MESSAGE BOARD Germany today

Thousands marched from one of Berlin's most historic synagogues in the former eastern half of the city, to the rally at the Brandenburg Gate.

The march took place amid a continuing debate over whether or not to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD).

It occurred on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, when the Nazis in 1938 rounded up Jews and smashed their shops and synagogues.

It is also the anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall fell 11 years ago, peacefully uniting Germans at Brandenburg Gate, where the march ended.

CNN's Chris Burns described the rally as "a demonstration of collective anger at the rising number of racist and anti-Semitic attacks this year."

He said it was seen by some as a vote of confidence for the bid by Schroeder to have the NPD banned. His cabinet proposed the move the day before, and it is now up to the German constitutional court to decide.

The demonstration aimed to show that a few thousand NPD members, with no seats in parliament, do not represent the German mainstream, Burns added.

He said many of the racist attacks were concentrated in the depressed former communist east. The government has cracked down on skinheads and promised more job opportunities there.

Dusk falls as the rally continues through Berlin

Some of the attacks were linked to members of the anti-immigrant NPD, which receives state funding as a legal party. The party's rallies routinely attract hundreds of neo-Nazi skinheads.

Protesters held banners against racism and green balloons emblazoned with "No to Neo-Nazis,"

Paul Spiegel, head of Germany's Jewish community, told the crowds: "Can you imagine what goes on inside of us when we experience that Germans are once again setting alight our synagogues, desecrating our cemeteries, sending death and bomb threats to our homes?"

Schroeder and other political German leaders dedicated wreaths marking Kristallnacht, with German President Johannes Rau saying nearly 100 people have been killed in far-right attacks in Germany since 1990.

He said: "Foreigners, handicapped people and homeless have been chased through the streets, injured and beaten to death by young German men. That is a shame for our country."

"Today we say: We are confronting violence and hate. Let us work for a Germany where we can be diverse without fear -- and that we can love because of that."

Earlier on Thursday, more than 20,000 people in Bremerhaven formed a 12-kilometre-long (7.5-mile-long) human chain through the northern city, 9,000 students marched against the extreme right in western Gevelsberg and 1,500 people walked in silent protest through Duesseldorf.

German cabinet backs far-right party ban
November 8, 2000
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October 25, 2000
Schroeder urges Germans to fight racism
August 23, 2000

German Federal Parliament

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