The China Mail - Protests as rebuilt tower opens at German church with Nazi links

Critics say the restoration of the Garrison Church in Potsdam, near Berlin, should be stopped as it risks becoming a rallying point for the far-right.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was among the guests at the opening of the structure, originally built in 1735 for the Prussian royal family, as around 100 protesters gathered outside.

Steinmeier acknowledged in a speech that the church is a reminder of "painful, ominous parts of our past -- indeed, moments where we Germans chose the wrong path".

But the new tower was "an opportunity to add a new, brighter, modern layer to the many historical layers" of the building, he said.

The Nazis chose the Garrison Church as the location for the reopening of the Reichstag after the parliament building was destroyed in a fire in 1933.

The elaborate ceremony known as Potsdam Day was one of the Nazis' most notorious propaganda efforts and is seen as a key moment in Hitler's rise to power.

The church was partly destroyed in the war and then finally flattened in 1968 by the communist East German authorities.

Efforts to rebuild it have gained momentum in recent years and in 2017 the German government committed 12 million euros ($13 million) to the project as it was deemed to be of national cultural significance.

Future plans for the building include adding a 30-metre (98-feet) dome and possibly rebuilding the nave.

But critics warn that the church in Brandenburg, one of three former East German states where the far-right AfD looks set to make big gains in regional elections next month, could be appropriated by a new generation of extremists.

An online petition criticising the project has gathered more than 8,000 signatures.

The church "stands for militarism, nationalism, for the unholy alliance of church, state and military and for a reactionary Potsdam that I don't want to live in", campaigner Sara Krieg told the ZDF broadcaster.

The newly-rebuilt church tower includes a viewing platform and an exhibition where visitors can learn about the history of the building.

Steinmeier insisted the church was "not a place for the worship of militarism, nationalism and authoritarianism".

"On the contrary: the new Garrison Church reminds us of the disaster that frenzied nationalism, racism and warmongering brought upon Germany and Europe," he said.

K.Lam--ThChM