Brutal attack on diversity! Bad Freienwalde in turmoil!

Brutal attack on diversity! Bad Freienwalde in turmoil!

At the colorful "Bad Freienwalde is colorful" festival in Brandenburg, there was a brutal incident last Sunday that hit waves. Hooded attackers, estimated between 10 and 15 people, attacked high -spirited participants and injured Heino Krummholz in the face by punching. Despite the presence of the police, which could not intervene in time, the perpetrators fled undetected. Fortunately, the police are looking for witnesses and images of the incident, which has now been handed over to the state protection because political motivation is considered "quite obvious", as https://coolis.de/2025/17/aschlauf-auf-fest-der-viels-in-bad-freienwalde/).

At the event, which stands for a "colorful Bad Freienwalde and against right -wing populism", the incident is not just a disturbance, but an alarming development, as Mayor Alf Lehmann describes the situation. The organizers have already been confronted with hard circumstances, because posters were stolen in advance. Similar festivities have already been disturbed by right -wing extremist groups, which further fuel the concerns about security in the country.

Brutal assault has caused headlines nationwide and further increased concern about increasing violence through right -wing extremists. Interior Minister René Wilke clearly condemned the attack and described attacks on people who participate in family and children's festivals as unacceptable. In discussions with those affected and the police on site, he urged an increased bourgeois commitment and a serious danger assessment by the security authorities, such as [rbb24 reported.

The alliance "Bad Freienwalde is colorful" is also combative and does not want to be intimidated. This is reflected in the voices of the actors. The organizer Judith Strohm demands more support from civil society and thus speaks what many think: the safety of the participants must be in the top priority. In addition, Lorenz Blumtaler from the Amadeu Antonio Foundation illustrates the need to protect diversity events, especially in a climate where the violence of neo-Nazis is continuously increasing.

increase in right -wing extremist violence

These incidents are not unique events, but part of an alarming trend that is also recorded in the current constitutional protection report. According to this, there were over 50,000 right -wing extremists in Germany for the first time in 2024, an increase of 25 percent compared to the previous year. The increase in politically motivated crimes that rose by 40 percent in 2024 is particularly worrying. The violence against the LSBTIQ-community also increases what [zdf] (https://www.zdfheute.de/politik/verfektungschutzbericht-rechts- Linksextremism- Israel-Konflikt-Queen-100.html) notes.

In Bad Freienwalde, the questionable political attitude is evident: Over 40 percent of the voters in the 2025 federal election opted for the AfD, which in the past has made a mood several times against the rainbow flag. In this explosive environment, the city is increasingly seeing itself as the focus of right violence.

The question of the "why" of this attack remains open, but the incident throws a bright light on the current challenges with which the queer community and society are confronted with. A rethinking and more action are urgently necessary to stop the violent spiral and to ensure a colorful Bad Freienwalde.