Right-wing march as a threat against Prinzen frontman
Police have secured a concert by singer Sebastian Krumbiegel in Schleusingen, Thuringia - the Prinzen frontman wanted to make a statement against right-wing extremism with his performance.
Parallel to his concert on Saturday evening, a march by the right-wing voter group "Zukunft Hildburghausen" took place. According to the police, around 95 people took part in the right-wing extremist march, while around 240 people attended Krumbiegel's concert and a subsequent silent protest in front of the venue, a church. According to the police, everything remained peaceful.
Krumbiegel does not want to be intimidated
It only became known this week that Krumbiegel had been severely threatened before his reading the previous evening in Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. After nasty comments on social media, the organizers wanted to cancel the reading on Friday evening for fear of attacks.
However, Krumbiegel, who comes from Leipzig, defended himself against this. He did not want to let "some mob" dictate when and where he performed. "It was important for me not to be driven into flight." The reading in Greifwald finally took place on Friday evening under police protection, around 80 people attended and there were no incidents.
Krumbiegel said that he had repeatedly received threats in the past. "But now it was up for debate whether the event had to be canceled. That's a whole new dimension."
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth said in Berlin that it was alarming and unacceptable that a committed artist like Krumbiegel should be prevented from performing with threats and intimidation and that the organizers were therefore very worried. Roth: "It must not be allowed to happen in our country that right-wing extremist forces want to determine where which form of culture takes place."
People expressed their support for Sebastian Krumbiegel at his concert, which was held to counter right-wing extremism. Despite facing threats before his reading in Greifswald, Krumbiegel decided to perform, emphasizing that he wouldn't let intimidation control his music events. Various musical events, including concerts and readings, have become targets for extremist groups, worrying cultural ministers like Claudia Roth who deems it unacceptable for such groups to dictate cultural events in Germany.
Source: www.dpa.com
