About 200 people attended a Reich Citizens gathering in Darmstadt on Saturday, while just over 800 joined a counterdemonstration, police said. Officers reported no disturbances so far; both demonstrations were reportedly still underway in the afternoon.
The Darmstadt Alliance Against the Far Right called the counterdemonstration under the slogan, “The emperor has abdicated, democracy lives on!” Its spokeswoman said the situation remained peaceful and welcomed the turnout.
The regional domestic intelligence service said the Darmstadt event was billed as “a grand gathering” of Reich Citizens from across Germany. It said gatherings of this kind have been organized at irregular intervals since August 2023. The service defines Reich Citizens as groups or individuals who reject the Federal Republic, its legal system, state institutions and democratically elected representatives. The article says they profess loyalty either to the Nazi-era Third Reich or to the German Empire that existed before World War I.
