Overview

• The Higher Administrative Court in Kassel rejected Darmstadt’s complaint, allowing the late‑evening silent march to proceed.
• The ruling upholds a prior decision by the Verwaltungsgericht Darmstadt that overturned the municipal ban.
• Police report registrations of about 200 participants for the torch march and roughly 100 for a counter‑demonstration.
• Mayor Hanno Benz had argued the event would instrumentalize the commemoration for right‑wing purposes and threaten public peace.
• The Bündnis gegen Rechts and the local SPD called counter‑protests for 21:00 at Kapellplatz and 23:00 at Luisenplatz, as official memorial bells are set to ring at 23:55 for the more than 11,000 victims of the 1944 bombing.