Weißenfels
I think it was around 2021 when I was in Weißenfels.
AfD rally, counter-demonstration—one of those situations you get used to if you’ve spent a long time in political spaces.
My route took me through the city on foot, through barricades, through areas of the counter-demonstration. I walked through because demonstrations in Germany are required to be peaceful. That is not a naive assumption, but the law.
A An additional video statement regarding the events described in Weißenfels was published separately. and documents the situation at the time from a visual perspective
Until I was recognized.
Within seconds, a crowd formed.
Twenty, maybe thirty masked individuals. They didn’t arrive all at once; they pushed in, egged each other on, worked themselves up. The dynamic was there immediately—this collective tipping point, when individuals turn into a mass.
I had my lunch with me in a jute bag.
A can of ravioli.
In a self-defense situation, you grab what you have. A can of ravioli makes an impression when you swing it. No one wants ravioli to the head. That exact scene can be seen in the video.
I did not attack anyone.
I kept my distance.
Then the police intervened. They pulled me out of the crowd before the situation escalated further. Not against me, but to put an end to what was just beginning to boil over.
That, too, is documented.
Leipzig
Later, there was also an escalation in Leipzig at a COVID demonstration. I was attacked there as well—among others by the same person who had already been present in Weißenfels with a telephoto lens: Zecke Grabow.
A detailed account of this incident will follow at a later point.
What remains
These lines are not dramatization.
They record how quickly the formal requirement of peace ends when a crowd tips.
You can believe in rules.
You can act in accordance with the law.
And still find yourself, within seconds, in a situation where it is only about distance and self-protection.
Weißenfels was one such moment.
Leipzig another.
No further explanation is needed.
📚 Further Reading – Partner Links
(Affiliate notice: The following links are partner links. If you make a purchase through them, you support Marlas Army at no additional cost to you.)
1. Hannah Arendt – On Violence
1. Hannah Arendt – On Violence
An analysis of the mechanisms of political control and public fear.
👉 https://amzn.to/3NDc0c8
2. George Orwell – 1984
The classic work on language control, truth, and surveillance.
👉 https://amzn.to/4bsO0SZ
3. Timothy Snyder – On Tyranny
Twenty lessons on how democracies die.
👉 https://amzn.to/3NcdiuI
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