The demonstrations were sparked by a deadly brawl that broke out in the German city of Chemnitz in the early hours of Sunday (August 26). What started out as a war of words resulted in a 35-year-old man being stabbed to death. Hours later, spontaneous, anti-migrant protests took over the streets of Chemnitz.

A German-Cuban man was stabbed in an altercation involving 10 people, several of whom were of "various nationalities," police sources said. The victim, named only as Daniel H., was apparently well-known among various political groups in the area. Two men in their 30s were also stabbed and seriously injured, and a 22-year-old Iraqi and 23-year-old Syrian are in custody over the killing.

By Sunday afternoon, some 800 people had gathered to protest the man's death, including far-right groups. Authorities said the crowd was largely uncooperative and threw bottles at police officers. Police reinforcements had to be called in from nearby cities. The mobilizations were spontaneous and are thought to have surfaced following calls to demonstrate on social media.

German authorities said that that far-right groups spread misinformation on the internet. Among the false claims was that the victim of the knife attack died protecting a woman.

Thousands of far-right and counterdemonstrators faced off in a second day of protest Monday. Several people were injured as objects and fireworks were hurled. Video footage showed the far-right "Pro Chemnitz" movement holding a banner with a quote from early 20th century poet Anton Günther reading "German and free we aim to be."

Counter-demonstrators denouncing right-wing extremism also took to the streets of Chemnitz. Among the protesters were Antifa, who clashed with right-wing demonstrators.

"The Wolves Are Back" is a series of 66 bronze statues of wolves. Some do the Hitler salute, which is usually banned in Germany. Artist Rainer Opolka says the work is meant to remind people of the threat of racism. Far-right sympathizers often use the wolf to describe themselves. The AfD's Björn Höcke used the word recently; Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, used it as early as 1928.

Opolka has brought his statues all around the country to places where racism and xenophobia are on display. They have been on show in Dresden during the anti-immigrant PEGIDA marches, and outside the Munich courthouse during the sentencing of Beate Zschäpe, a member of the neo-Nazi NSU terror cell.

When the far-right Pro Chemnitz group launches its newest rally on Friday, both the city's famous Karl Marx statue and the wolves will be watching. While some of the wolves have an aggressive stance, others appear with blindfolds.

After a series of far-right rallies in early September, Chemnitz has been trying to reclaim its image from the negative headlines. Large banners in the city center decry ethno-nationalism, and an anti-racism concert held under the banner "We are more" attracted some 65,000 people.

Officials in Chemnitz have voiced their concern that the unrest will permanently damage the city's image. They've gone to great lengths to distance themselves from the right-wing rallies, and have fast-tracked criminal proceedings for those who committed violence or broke hate-speech laws during the protests.