Matthew Hauser '23: Opinion: Anti-Lockdown Demonstrations in Germany Draws Parallels to Past Mayhem in Michigan

Armed, unmasked protestors are blocked by security from entering the state’s House of Representatives chamber, after storming into the capitol building in opposition to public health restrictions. Credit: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP

On April 30th, 2020, armed protestors in Michigan stormed the state capitol building. The large group of maskless demonstrators opposed the state’s lockdown restrictions that were implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19. The protestors carried a plethora of American flags and posters. The “American Patriot Rally” quickly escalated into a clash in the halls of the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan. Legislators wore bulletproof vests as a precaution, according to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. No shots were fired, but a tense standoff between police and protesters ensued. 

“I respect people's right to dissent, but that does not extend to endangering other people's lives and we take it very seriously,” Governor Whitmer said afterward.  

Eventually, the protesters backed down and order was reestablished at the Michigan statehouse. 

The demonstrators at the Michigan American Patriot Rally carried homemade signs of protest, American flags, and spread pro-Trump slogans. But there also were some individuals who had nooses and swastikas, according to Governor Whitmer. 

On August 30th, a strikingly similar scene erupted in Berlin. About 38,000 people protested against the restrictions enacted by the government to limit the spread of COVID-19. Protestors gathered outside the Reichstag, which houses Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin. The demonstrators then attempted to storm the building. Security was quickly able to push back protesters, keeping the Reichstag safe. 

Similar to Michigan, the protestors in Germany used signs and symbols that received widespread criticism. Notably, the anti-lockdown protestors adorned pro-Trump paraphernalia and waved an old German flag from its imperial age. Protestors are using the flag to glaborize and harken back to the old German Empire 1871-1918, in which Germany was a colonial, militaristic monarchy. The reactionary nostalgia for the Kaiser’s reign drew widespread condemnation, including from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who called the use of the imperial flag, “an unacceptable attack on the heart of our democracy.” 

A German protestor outside the Reichstag wears an old red, black, and white imperial German flag. The flag says “Gott mit uns,” or God with us in English. Credit: AFP

Protesters carry a banner reading “Please, Mr. President, Make Germany Great Again!” The Q on either side is a reference to the “QAnon” conspiracy theory. Credit: Michael Kappeler / AP

The similarities between the protests in Michigan and in Berlin are striking. In both cases, demonstrators were standing against public health restrictions implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Michigan protestors got further, but both groups tried to storm a public building and had to be repelled by security. Thankfully, no shots were fired at either event. Germans in Berlin held pro-Trump flags and signs, suggesting they see solidarity with anti-lockdown demonstrators in the United States. 

While separated by months and an ocean, these two protests remind us that political movements are often not contained by borders. Rather, they interact, imitate, and learn from each other. In that sense, trends in US or German politics do not happen in a vacuum, rather, they can directly influence each other.