The Carnival parades in Cologne, Duesseldorf, Mainz took aim at racism among many other highlighted issues; Brexit, U.S. President Donald Trump and even an evil looking “Corona-Virus” creature.
One Dusseldorf float depicted a red-faced man yelling in rage, a pistol protruding from his mouth with the word “racism” on the barrel. On the side were the slogan “from words come deeds” and a list of the attacks, including Hanau.
In Cologne, a somber float depicted a weeping Carnival jester holding a heart with the slogan “our heart beats for Hanau.”
Last Wednesday, a 43-year-old German man who had posted a racist screed online advocating genocide gunned down nine people of foreign background in the Frankfurt suburb of Hanau, before apparently killing himself and his mother.
It was the latest in a string of far-right attacks in Germany and many have pointed the finger at the Alternative for Germany party, suggesting its nationalist anti-migrant rhetoric has helped create the climate for violence.
Festivities in several cities were called off Sunday due to high winds but the Monday parades were expected to go ahead.
