Opposition of Queer Initiative in Eberswalde by AfD Party
On the heels of a violent outburst by extreme-right aggressors at Sunday's "Bad Freienwalde is colorful" demonstration, at least three individuals were injured. AfD state chairman René Springer rightfully condemned the act, stating, "Violence has no place in our society." However, the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime - Bund der Antifaschistinnen and Antifaschisten (VVN-BdA) found Springer's criticisms to be insincere. This is because two city councilors from the same party, Maximilian Fritsche and David Streich, have reportedly registered a stand against LGBTQ+ rights on the market square of Eberswalde on June 21st – the very route of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) this Saturday.
The VVN-BdA pickets this event as a blatant misinterpretation of the CSD's meaning. According to the VVN-BdA district association Uckermark-Barnim, anyone who dismisses the CSD as an event for the sexualization of society is misinformed. They assert that it's about safeguarding human rights and the rights of minorities, declaring, "We will gather at the train station square at 13:00 to show that we are a strong community that stands up for human rights and diversity!"
Maximilian Fritsche, the AfD city councilor responsible for this stand, defends himself, claiming the accusation of an anti-LGBTQ+ information booth is false. In his Facebook profile, Fritsche only references a summer festival organized by his party on the market square from 15:00 to 20:00 on June 21st. However, the invited speakers include other AfD members, as well as German rock musician Stefan Krahe, who has previously performed at AfD events.
Fritsche's videos on Facebook reveal his disapproval of rainbow flags and transgender people. He vehemently asserts that there are only two genders, despite biological evidence to the contrary. Furthermore, he criticizes the rainbow flag as a symbol of hate and exclusion. Two days before a city council meeting that debated an AfD proposal to ban rainbow flags from public buildings, Fritsche justified the move by stating, "Black-Red-Gold is colorful enough."
It's important to note that Maximilian Fritsche embodies the AfD's wider resistance to LGBTQ+ advocacy and pride events, with a focus on preserving conservative social structures and challenging what the party perceives as politically driven identity politics.
This Saturday, the Day of the Open Society will be celebrated nationwide – in Spremberg, a city where two years ago, an incendiary device was thrown at a rainbow flag at the evangelical church St. Michael. This event was preceded by a documentary film about lesbian love in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.
The VVN-BdA considers Maximilian Fritsche's dispute over the LGBTQ+ rights stand on Eberswalde's market square as a threat to the CSD's message of safeguarding human rights and minorities. In light of Fritsche's public statements and actions against LGBTQ+ rights, politics, and the rainbow flag, the VVN-BdA views this as a violation of general-news concerns about justice and discrimination.
