Die Toten Hosen and Kraftklub are among the German bands planning to rock Chemnitz on Monday. They want to send a message in view of massive violent far-right unrest in the eastern German city.
Image: Paul Ripke
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Several German bands are headed to Chemnitz for a late afternoon open air concert on Monday, taking a stand against racism, violence and xenophobia.
The eastern German city has been the scene of protests and far-right violence over the last week.
The line-up for Monday's free concert under the motto #WirSindMehr ("We are more") includes Germany's Die Toten Hosen.
Along with the popular punk rock band, rappers Marteria & Casper, K.I.Z, Feine Sahne Fischfilet as well as local bands Trettmann and Kraftklub are performing on the square at the Karl Marx monument.
Concert planned in Chemnitz
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The concert was initiated by Kraftklub, who came to fame with a hymn to their hometown of Chemnitz.
In a joint statement, the participating musicians paid tribute to the thousands of people took to the streets in Chemnitz to face off the far-right throngs. "We celebrate every one of you," they wrote. "We can't simply leave the streets to this racist mob without a reaction, and hope many more people will come along."
"We want to show all the people who were attacked by neo-Nazis that they are not alone," they said and urged people to head to Chemnitz.
Within hours after the concert was announced, many thousands of fans reacted on Facebook, promising to be there.
Check out our Spotify list to discover the participating bands.
How the Chemnitz protests unfolded
Hundreds of far-right and counterprotesters clashed in Germany's Chemnitz over the death of a 35-year-old German-Cuban. Two men are suspected of having stabbed the victim several times "with no justifiable reason."
Image: Getty Images/O. Andersen
Death sparks demonstrations
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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Meyer
German-Cuban killed
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.
Image: DW/B. Knight
Police reinforcements called
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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Misinformation
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.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Andersen
Protests and counterprotests
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."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
'No place for Nazis'
Counter-demonstrators denouncing right-wing extremism also took to the streets of Chemnitz. Among the protesters were Antifa, who clashed with right-wing demonstrators.
