In a Germany where the memory of democratic collapse is not merely historical, civil society has begun organizing itself against a familiar pattern: the slow erosion of safety for those who speak plainly about justice and pluralism. Across eastern Germany in particular, educators, advisers, councilors, and activists are living under sustained far-right pressure — vandalism, threats, physical assault, and the quiet suffocation of funding and opportunity. More than eighty organizations, from trade unions to churches to environmental groups, have answered with a formal solidarity pact, recognizin
German civil society unites against far-right threats to democracy
Multiple democracy advocates have experienced physical assault, threats against family members and animals, harassment of children, and job security fears due to far-right extremist intimidation.
We will defend our democracy and guide our local people through this valley
Mark
Why does an alliance like this matter if the AfD hasn't actually won power yet?
Mimi
Because the intimidation is happening now. Pankonin's partner was assaulted. Zeller's daughter was excluded from birthday parties. These aren't hypothetical threats—they're reshaping how people live and work today.
Luke
But we should be clear: the source doesn't say how many people are experiencing this level of harassment. We have three named individuals. We don't know if this is widespread or concentrated.
Mark
What's the legal argument here? Can the AfD actually fire all public servants if they win?
Mimi
No. Fahimi was explicit: it would be unlawful. But the fear exists because the AfD has said it wants to do this. So the trade union is training people to recognize illegal orders and resist them.
Luke
That's important—the threat is real enough that people need legal training to defend themselves, even though the law would protect them. That's the actual story.
Mark
Is the alliance actually preventing attacks, or just responding to them?
Mimi
Right now it's mostly solidarity and support—legal help, funding, public backing. They're also educating people on their rights. Prevention would mean stopping the attacks before they happen.
Luke
The source doesn't show evidence that the alliance has prevented anything yet. It was formed in 2024. We're reading about what it aims to do, not what it has accomplished.
Mark
What about rural areas? That seems like a gap.
Mimi
Pankonin specifically wants more involvement from major organizations in rural places. Zeller has gotten help from small local networks, but a large alliance could reach further.
Luke
But we don't know if the alliance has actually expanded into rural areas or if it's still concentrated in cities. That's a stated goal, not a confirmed reality.
The Pulse
- Democracy workers in eastern Germany are no longer simply facing political opposition — they are checking their locks, arranging security escorts for poster runs, and watching their children lose friends.
- The AfD's tactics extend beyond intimidation: parliamentary information requests are weaponized to slow civic processes, discredit democratic networks, and drain the funding that keeps civil society alive.
- The threat of an AfD government is viscerally concrete for many public servants — promises of sweeping personnel purges in ministries, courts, and police forces have prompted trade unions to begin training members in constitutional law so they can identify and refuse unlawful orders.
- Over 80 organizations have signed a Solidarity Agreement, pooling legal aid, financial support, and public visibility to shield activists, youth centers, and LGBTQ+ organizers from escalating attacks.
- Even as the alliance grows, federal budget cuts are hollowing out the democracy projects it seeks to protect — solidarity can offer cover, but it cannot yet replace the structural funding being withdrawn.
- From rural Saxony to small-town Saxony-Anhalt, isolated activists are looking to the alliance not just for resources, but for the moral assurance that they are not alone in a landscape that has grown hostile to openness.
In a Germany where the memory of democratic collapse is not merely historical, civil society has begun organizing itself against a familiar pattern: the slow erosion of safety for those who speak plainly about justice and pluralism. Across eastern Germany in particular, educators, advisers, councilors, and activists are living under sustained far-right pressure — vandalism, threats, physical assault, and the quiet suffocation of funding and opportunity. More than eighty organizations, from trade unions to churches to environmental groups, have answered with a formal solidarity pact, recognizing that democracy is not defended by institutions alone, but by the people willing to remain visible within it.
Felix Pankonin checks the locks on his house the way most people check their phones. An AfD lawmaker has appeared at his property more than once. His bicycles have been destroyed, threats made against his animals, his partner beaten. He runs programs on political history, Jewish heritage, and antisemitism in Zittau, eastern Saxony — work that most democracies would consider unremarkable civic contribution. It has made him a target.
He is not alone. Keerthana Kuperan, a political adviser for a migrant community organization in eastern Germany, describes a slow transformation: no one stays in the office alone after 6 p.m., security is arranged before activists put up posters in rural areas, and parliamentary information requests from the AfD have become instruments of delay and discrediting. Miriam Zeller, a Green Party councilor in a small northern town, has watched her daughter stop receiving birthday invitations and been accused of warmongering for supporting Ukraine. She has civil service protection. Many of her peers do not, and the prospect of an AfD government — with its stated intention to overhaul personnel across ministries, courts, and police — is not abstract to them.
In response, more than 80 organizations formed the Together for Democracy alliance, signing a Solidarity Agreement that commits them to support anyone targeted for defending democratic values. The German Trade Union Federation, major Christian churches, sports bodies, human rights organizations, and groups like Greenpeace joined together, offering legal assistance, financial support, and public solidarity. Trade union head Yasmin Fahimi called the threatened personnel purges flatly unlawful and announced that the federation is now training members in constitutional and civil service law so they can recognize and resist illegal orders.
The alliance also addresses the particular vulnerability of LGBTQ+ activists — Pride events have faced attacks across Germany, and local organizers often lack the knowledge or resources to respond. Andre Lehmann of the Queer Diversity Association sees the alliance as concrete protection on the ground. Sophie Lampl of Greenpeace acknowledged it cannot replace lost government funding, but argued that large organizations bring campaigning power and public visibility that isolated activists cannot generate alone.
Pankonin, who has already channeled legal advice and security funding through the alliance, wants to see its reach extend deeper into rural areas, where isolation makes vulnerability acute. Zeller believes genuine solidarity from a broad coalition could make a real difference even in remote places. The alliance's ambition is not to win an argument — it is to ensure that the people willing to remain visible in defense of democratic life do not have to do so entirely alone.
Felix Pankonin checks the locks on his house the way other people check their phones. It has become routine. A lawmaker from the far-right Alternative for Germany party—the AfD—has shown up at his property more than once. His bicycles have been destroyed. He has received threats about his animals. His partner was beaten.
Pankonin runs educational programs on political history, Jewish heritage, and antisemitism at the Hillersche Villa in Zittau, a town in eastern Saxony. This work, which most democracies would consider ordinary civic contribution, has made him a target. He is not alone. Across eastern Germany, people who defend democratic institutions and speak against far-right extremism are living under a new kind of pressure—one that has reshaped how they move through their days.
Keerthana Kuperan works as a political adviser for DaMOst, an umbrella organization representing migrant communities in the east. Her parents are from Sri Lanka. Over the past three years, right-wing extremism has forced her organization to adopt security protocols that would have seemed unthinkable a decade ago. No one stays in the office alone after 6 p.m. When activists put up posters in rural areas, security measures are arranged in advance. The AfD files parliamentary information requests—often about migration—designed to slow political processes and elevate issues that should not be divisive. The effect is cumulative: democratic networks have been discredited, funding has dried up, and job prospects have narrowed.
Miriam Zeller, a Green Party city councilor in Stendal, a town of 37,000 in northern Saxony-Anhalt, has watched her daughter stop receiving birthday party invitations. She herself has been accused of warmongering for supporting Ukraine after Russia's invasion. The hostility intensified when the Greens held power. She has the protection of civil service employment; others do not. For many, the prospect of an AfD government is not abstract—it carries the real threat of losing their livelihoods.
In response, over 80 organizations have formed what they call the Together for Democracy alliance. The German Trade Union Federation, which represents more than 5 million workers, joined alongside major Christian churches, sports organizations, human rights groups, and environmental organizations like Greenpeace. They signed a Solidarity Agreement in 2024, committing to support anyone targeted for defending democracy. The alliance offers legal assistance, financial support, and public solidarity when activists face attacks, when youth centers are threatened, when volunteers receive threats, when hate campaigns target people who speak openly.
Yasmin Fahimi, head of the trade union federation, was direct about what an AfD government has threatened: a complete personnel overhaul in government agencies, ministries, courts, and police. "This is completely unlawful," she said. The federation is now training its members in constitutional law and civil service law so they can recognize and resist illegal orders. Fahimi called on politicians to do more—to ensure that public servants receive clear information, seminars, and workshops so they are not left defenseless against authoritarian demands.
Andre Lehmann, from the Queer Diversity Association, noted that the alliance offers concrete protection for LGBTQ+ activists on the ground. Pride events across Germany have faced attacks. Local organizers often do not know how to respond. An alliance can step in. The queer community has been shaken by an Islamist attack on a Pride event in Berlin. At the same time, democracy projects are losing funding as the federal government cuts budgets.
Sophie Lampl, from Greenpeace, acknowledged that the alliance cannot fully replace the funding that has been lost. But there is strength in numbers. Environmental organizations bring their capacity to campaign, to publicly stand with those under attack, to expose injustice. Pankonin has already provided legal advice, security funding, and moral support to the alliance. He wants to see larger organizations do more in rural areas, where isolation compounds vulnerability. Zeller has received help from small local networks and believes a large alliance with genuine solidarity could make a vital difference even in remote places. Lehmann was resolute: "We will defend our democracy and, if necessary, guide our local people through this valley."
Notable Quotes
This fantasy of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt—to carry out a complete personnel shake-up in government agencies, ministries, courts and the police—is completely unlawful. We are making it clear to our members that they can fight back against this.— Yasmin Fahimi, head of the German Trade Union Federation
Right now, we're seeing a lot of attacks on Pride events all over Germany. In some cases, local organizers don't even know what to do in such situations. That's where an alliance like this can step in.— Andre Lehmann, Queer Diversity Association
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