Dresden, Monday April 20, 2020:

Disapproval of the approval of the Pegida rally on Adolf Hitler’s birthday as the first gathering after the relaxation of the Saxon Corona Protection Ordinance

The association “Wirtschaft für ein Weltoffenes Sachsen” disapproves of the decision by the Dresden assembly authorities to approve the Pegida rally on April 20, 2020.

An entire country has been at a standstill for more than four weeks. Entrepreneurs are struggling with the effects of the coronavirus crisis and acting for the benefit of their employees. Political leaders are governing in crisis mode and weighing up decisions under the most difficult circumstances. The healthcare system is preparing for an emergency in order to protect lives. Aid packages were put together for companies and their employees, expanded and in some cases implemented quickly.

However, in order to protect the health of the population, a number of fundamental democratic rights have also been restricted, the proportionality of which is already being discussed. This includes the nationwide restriction of the ban on public gatherings. Section 3 of the Saxon Corona Protection Ordinance of April 17, 2020 states: “In individual cases, exceptional permits may be granted on application, in particular for assemblies within the meaning of the Saxon Assembly Act, by the responsible district or the responsible district-free city, insofar as this is justifiable from the point of view of infection protection law.”

We expressly disapprove of the city of Dresden’s decision to allow a Pegida rally on April 20, 2020, Adolf Hitler’s birthday, which is celebrated by right-wing extremists. Our association has been committed to open-mindedness and internationality for several years and has taken a stand against racism and right-wing tendencies. In this way, we have achieved a great deal among employees in the companies, but also in the public debate. This also included repeatedly focusing on the positive face of Saxony. The fact that the first public gathering following the easing of restrictions is now a Pegida event is a huge blow to our work to date. This decision does not stand for the individual case named in §3, but rather for “business as usual” in Dresden.

The effects of the crisis are not yet foreseeable, neither for the individual nor for society. The task that arises with the first easing of restrictions is a broad discourse on how we will live and work in the future – in a spirit of solidarity, sustainability and economic success: What contribution can Germany make to strengthen the European economic area together with its allies? What support do neighboring countries, which have been hit much harder by the crisis, need? Can national populism be pushed back in the evaluation of the crisis? And how can we promote social cohesion?

We are always open to this constructive discourse.