Demonstrations against the far right held in Germany following a report on a deportation meeting

Thousands of people have gathered in Germany for demonstrations against the far right, among them Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his foreign minister

BERLIN -- Thousands of people gathered in Germany on Sunday for demonstrations against the far right, among them Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his foreign minister, following a report that extremists recently met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including German citizens, if they took power.

There were protests in Potsdam, just outside Berlin, and at the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital. They followed a demonstration on Saturday in the western city of Duisburg.

Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock represent the Potsdam area in the German parliament, and Baerbock told German news agency dpa that she attended the demonstration there as one of thousands of locals “who stand for democracy and against old and new fascism.”

Last week, media outlet Correctiv reported on the alleged far-right meeting in November, which it said was attended by figures from the extremist Identitarian Movement and from the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD. A prominent member of the Identitarian Movement, Austrian citizen Martin Sellner, presented his “remigration” vision for deportations.

Potsdam Mayor Mike Schubert said that “these plans are reminiscent of the darkest chapter of German history.”