An Antifa Demonstration

I know someone who belongs to a group that calls itself 'Antifa', which stands for Anti-Faschismus. They work to oppose the surviving traces of Nazism in Germany, and stand for left-wing values.
Recently I was informed of an anti-Nazi demonstration that would be held in Aachen. It was staged on the fourth of February, which is the anniversary of a local club of reportedly violent neo-Nazis. A couple American friends and I decided to watch, thinking it would be an interesting experience during our year in Germany. I was told that this would be okay, so long as I stayed out of the demonstration itself.
This is how I came to be trailing along after the huge flock of black-clad protesters that wound its way through the streets of Aachen. The main group consisted of youths, dressed mostly in black. They had dark hats and scarves that served to cover their faces from the cold and from recognition, and also to protect against pepper spray. Dotted among these Antifa members, however, were casually-dressed individuals who joined the throng at some point in the march. The protesters marched alongside a van which blasted music when it wasn't being used to project anti-fascist messages. Surrounding this entire chanting, singing and shouting bundle of humanity stood the cops. They were dressed in full uniform, complete with riot helmets and batons.
Police vans had been parked up and down the city for hours; lining the protest route and ready to spring into action if needed. The majority of the police force was put to work escorting the demonstration; keeping both the protesters and the city itself safe.

My attempts at photography were limited and shaky

For the most part, these cops were apparently unnecessary. The protest was peaceful, mostly causing trouble by blocking streets and intersections as the crowd walked by. However, about halfway in someone began lighting fireworks. As I mentioned in my New Year's blog post, fireworks are only legal on very specific days in Germany. These ones, although harmless, caused the police to don their riot helmets and stand at the ready. After a policeman ordered the protesters to stop lighting the fireworks or face arrest, they continued marching on in peace.
After three or so hours of walking in the below-freezing temperatures, the demonstration finally made it back to their starting point. They were using a Antifa-controlled building as a home base, and stood in front of it with their banners and signs. A few protesters lit flares and fireworks, but it appeared that the demonstration was actually coming to an end. Sensing this, and hating the cold, my friend and I decided to leave. I've never been that cold before, and it was nice to finally get inside and away from the frost. However, we judged it incorrectly, and ended up missing the most exciting (albeit possibly dangerous) part of the rally.
Although the demonstration was officialy over, the police refused to leave. They surrounded the building on all sides, and watched the remaining protesters warily. A few people then began to throw fireworks directly at the police, before retreating back into the building. From what I have gathered, this sparked the final conflict with the police, wherein the protesters attempted to get into their building while the police charged in with pepper spray. As I was happily in a warm building by this point, that is the entirety of my knowledge (which might be somewhat faulty.)
Despite the pepper spray and fireworks-filled climax, this was actually quite a peaceful demonstration. 500 or so people marched peacefully and calmly through the major streets of Aachen, spreading their message to all that could see. Many of these sort of protests, on both sides of the issue, involve violent altercations with the police. This is why I was told to stay a good distance away from the protest; an order which I was perfectly fine with obeying. Despite the cold and the long walk, I ended up actually enjoying the experience. It seemed like a singularly German thing to do; to walk alongside a group of people opposed to Nazism, listening as they chanted German slogans for all to hear.

Finally, here is a link to the flickr gallery for the demonstration.
Also, if anything I said is unclear, or if you have any questions about it, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.