Protests as German president inaugurates rebuilt tower of church with Nazi links

Participants in a protest by the Citizens’ Initiative for a Potsdam without a Garrison Church stand in front of the building with signs to mark the opening of the tower of the Garrison Church in Potsdam, Germany (Christoph Soeder/AP)

Germany’s president has inaugurated the rebuilt tower of a church that became associated with the Nazis’ takeover of power and whose remains were demolished under communist rule.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it offers an opportunity to reflect on the country’s complicated past amid a surge in authoritarian and antidemocratic attitudes.