25,000 Protest Rightist March in Germany

COLOGNE, Germany —  Left-wing activists protesting hate and racism clashed briefly with police Saturday during a demonstration by about 25,000 people against a much smaller neo-Nazi march nearby.

One police officer was hit by a stone. About 30 people were briefly held.

About 2,000 police officers were deployed to prevent clashes between about 100 right-wing extremists, including Christian Worch, one of Germany’s most active neo-Nazis, and radical elements among the counter-demonstrators.

Leftist protesters threw stones and bottles at the right-wing extremists, and witnesses said two leftists broke through security lines in an attempt to block the neo-Nazi demonstration before police took them away.

Police initially had prohibited the neo-Nazi march through a neighborhood near the famed Cologne Cathedral, but a judge lifted the ban, saying there was no evidence of a specific danger. However, protesters were barred from wearing uniform clothing and carrying banners or signs with Nazi slogans, which are forbidden in Germany.

Authorities in the northern city of Bad Segeberg, meanwhile, reported that vandals had painted about 20 swastikas and racial epithets on the side of a bus for the Bundesliga soccer club Hamburger SV. A nearby sports hall was painted with 15 swastikas. Police said they had no immediate leads.