Thousands of demonstrators flooded the German city of Erfurt on Saturday in a bid to shut down the rising far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's annual congress and signalling their concern over echoes from Germany's Nazi past. The congress comes 100 years to the day since the Nazi Party held a conference of its own in nearby Weimar, with AfD critics accusing the party of choosing the date as a deliberate provocation.
About 20,000 people flocked to Erfurt, in Thuringia state, according to police, to protest against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party that tops national opinion polls.