Jewish groups, politicians and an alliance of civil society organizations held a memorial ceremony and protest rally against a Roger Waters concert in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday.
They accuse the Pink Floyd co-founder of anti-Semitism, an allegation he denies.
Waters has drawn their ire for his support of the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts and sanctions against Israel.
The authorities in Frankfurt had initially tried to prevent the concert, but Roger Waters successfully challenged this move in a local court.
The concert took place in the city’s Festhalle where, in November 1938, more than 2,700 Jews were rounded up by the Nazis, beaten and mistreated, and then deported to concentration camps.
“In this historical context, the concert should never have taken place, under any pretext,” said Sacha Stawski, who is a member of the Jewish community in Frankfurt and responsible for the group Honestly Concerned, which participated in the organization of the demonstration.
“It’s very frustrating” that the concert is going as planned, even though Frankfurt officials and many other people have tried to prevent it, added Elio Adler, the leader of the Jewish group WerteInitiative.
“His words and images spread hatred of Jews and are part of a trend of normalizing hatred of Israel under the protection of freedom of speech or art,” Mr. Adler added.
Berlin police last week said they had opened an investigation into Roger Waters over a disguise the Pink Floyd co-founder wore when he performed in the German capital earlier this month.
Footage on social media showed the entertainer firing a fake submachine gun while dressed in a long black coat with a red armband. Police have confirmed that an investigation has been opened into suspicions that the context of the costume may constitute a glorification, vindication or endorsement of Nazi rule and therefore a disturbance of the public peace.
Waters dismissed those accusations in a statement on Facebook and Instagram, saying “the elements of my performance that have been questioned are very clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms.”
He claimed that “attempts to present these elements as something else are dishonest and politically motivated”.
During Sunday’s demonstration, which took place outside the concert hall before the start of Waters’ performance, demonstrators read aloud the names of 600 Jews who were gathered at the Festhalle on November 9, 1939, the so- saying Kristallnacht — Kristallnacht — when the Nazis terrorized the Jews in Germany and Austria.
A joint Jewish-Christian prayer was also pronounced for the victims of the Nazi terror in Frankfurt. In addition, activists handed out flyers to concerto-goers and waved Israeli flags.
Among the approximately 400 demonstrators, some waved Israeli flags. Others instead carried banners displaying slogans like “Israel, we are with you” or “Roger Waters, we wish you weren’t here,” in reference to the famous Pink Floyd song Wish You Were Were.
Protesters also rallied against a Roger Waters concert in Munich earlier this month, after the city council said it had explored options to ban the performance but concluded it was not legally possible to cancel a contract with the organizer.
Last year, the Polish city of Krakow canceled Roger Waters concerts due to his favorable stance towards Russia in its war against Ukraine.