Politics · Germany · 2 days ago
Protesters block AfD politician from Halle synagogue commemoration
People in Halle, Germany, gathered on October 9 to remember the victims of a 2019 attack on the city’s synagogue.
AfD politician Hans Tillschneider tried to enter the commemoration, but several people formed a human chain and blocked him.
Police said the gathering was spontaneous and that the situation remained calm as officials mediated.
Tillschneider left after a lengthy discussion.
The event marked seven years since a far-right gunman tried to enter the synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest Jewish day.
After failing to get inside, he killed a passer-by and a customer at a nearby restaurant, and injured others before police arrested him.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020, with preventive detention afterward; the commemoration was intended to focus on the victims, and other events were held in Halle that day.
A human chain blocked AfD politician Hans-Joachim/Hans-Thomas Tillschneider from entering a memorial event in Halle on Friday.
The event commemorated the victims of the antisemitic attack on Halle’s synagogue on 9 October 2019.
Police said the gathering was peaceful and that officials mediated between Tillschneider and the demonstrators.
After a lengthy discussion, Tillschneider left the site.
The sources give different versions of his middle name: t-online says Hans-Joachim, while n-tv says Hans-Thomas.
- Who
- AfD politician Tillschneider tried to attend the memorial; demonstrators formed a human chain to block him. The sources differ on his middle name.
- What
- Protesters prevented him from entering the memorial event.
- When
- Friday, 9 October 2026, before the event began at midday.
- Where
- At the grounds of the synagogue in Halle, Germany.
- Why
- Protesters opposed his attendance; a JSUD representative said the memorial should focus on the victims and not be politically appropriated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A far-right party chairman has no place at our commemoration. We will not allow this commemoration to be appropriated. First and foremost, this is about the victims.
It was and is the wish of the Jewish Community in Halle to dedicate this day of remembrance to the victims of the terrible attack of 9 October 2019 and to allow no political instrumentalization. Through his attempt to participate, AfD politician Hans Thomas Tillschneider trampled on this wish.
A gunman tried to enter Halle’s synagogue and killed two people after failing to get inside.
The Naumburg Higher Regional Court sentenced the attacker to life imprisonment followed by preventive detention.
Tillschneider was elected vice-president of the new state parliament in Magdeburg.
Demonstrators blocked Tillschneider from entering the memorial event, and he later left the site.
- Location
- Synagogue grounds in Halle, Germany
- Memorial date
- 9 October 2026
- Attack date
- 9 October 2019
- Deaths in attack
- Two people
- Tillschneider’s office
- Vice-president of the new state parliament in Magdeburg
Sources
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