Antifa mobs clashed with German police in the city of Giessen on Saturday, 29 November, during the founding congress of the new youth organization of right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), Generation Deutschland (GD).
According to police estimates, more than 25,000 demonstrators gathered across the city, blocking multiple access routes and forcing authorities to deploy an exceptionally large security contingent—reportedly up to 5,000 officers. The clashes escalated by midday, with groups of masked protesters throwing stones and bottles at police lines. Officers responded with pepper spray and water cannon to reopen the blocked roads and secure the venue. At least ten officers sustained minor injuries during the confrontations.
According to social-media reports, Antifa protesters also attacked journalists and even one AfD lawmaker during the violent clashes. Alice Weidel, co-chair of the party, described the scenes in Giessen as ‘deeply anti-democratic’, arguing that political opponents sought not to debate but to silence a legitimate party by intimidation and violence. ‘These extremists did not come to protest peacefully. They came to shut down a party convention by force,’ she wrote on X. She accused German media and political elites of downplaying left-wing violence while fixating on the AfD, adding that the double standard had ‘never been clearer’ than in Giessen.
AfD-linked political commentator Naomi Seibt, who is currently seeking political asylum in the United States, called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization, following the same decision made earlier by both US President Donald Trump and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. Trump and Orbán are both allies of Alice Weidel and the AfD, with the former reportedly visiting the United States soon with a significant delegation.
Despite the outrageous and violent efforts to block it, the founding congress of GD—the successor to the now-dissolved Young Alternative—eventually began after a delay of more than two hours. The new organization is designed to operate under tighter party oversight, following years of scrutiny from Germany’s domestic intelligence services. Delegates elected 28-year-old Bundestag member Jean-Pascal Hohm as the inaugural leader, signaling the party’s intention to cultivate a disciplined and politically reliable cadre of young members.
‘Let us build a strong Germany,’ Weidel said, welcoming the establishment of the organization and stating that they are the ‘future’ of the AfD. The party is currently the largest political force in the country, leading the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) by 1–2 per cent in recent polls.
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