Molotov cocktail, explosive attack, swastikas. You can read these headlines about attacks on left-wing meeting places in Germany in the last four weeks alone. This only happened on January 14, 2026 alternative cultural center Schlossberg in Saalfeld with incendiary devices pelted. In Cottbus, unknown people blew up the door of the building on December 30, 2025 self-managed house project and youth center “Zelle79”.
Other attacks on socio-cultural places occur more quietly. The “Network for Democratic Culture” in Wurzen recently announced that it would have to cancel almost all of its events in 2026 and limit the opening hours of its cultural and civic center. The reason for this is a decision by the city council to cut funding to the association.
Tobias Burdukat from the Old Lace Factory in Grimma, Saxony that’s not surprising. The “Association for Youth Culture and Interpersonality”, which organized open youth work there, had its funding canceled in 2021. The social shift to the right is noticeable in many communities, including Grimma: “We are a thorn in the city’s side. Among other things, because the young people who used to meet with us protested against the AfD, which is the strongest party here. Since then, obstacles have been put in our way.”
Young people used to meet regularly in the Old Lace Factory. They organized concerts and workshops. But then the youth work position was eliminated, the skate park was cleared and use of the area was prohibited. According to Burdukat, there are hardly any alternative offers for kids in Grimma: “Here in rural areas, boys often become football hooligans. For girls there is actually nothing as a point of reference.” So that young people can meet in the old lace factory again at some point, it needs to be extensively renovated. But that is expensive.
“Rich lefties” should pay
If institutional funding depends on the political climate, but the wind is blowing stiffly from the right, where should the money for the maintenance of alternative centers, or AZs for short, come from? Who should compensate for property damage after right-wing attacks? “The pressure on AZs is increasing. Many have closed in the last few years. Things have become shittier for everyone. We now have to help ourselves. And rely on civil society financing,” says Tobias Burdukat.
The “Monom Foundation for Change” wants to establish a pot for such financing. Together with the socio-cultural center Conne Island in Leipzig, she has “Everything starts at the center” was launched. The campaign collects donations for a fund that self-governing left-wing spaces can use when problems arise.
The aim is that the pot can also be used to finance regular expenses, such as salaries for positions that have been eliminated by municipalities. Because places where young people can meet, where the neighborhood comes together, where you can get a cheap meal and where people educate themselves together, have an impact on the whole of society, explains Carla Riese from the Monom Foundation: “It is so important that self-organized, emancipative centers are not lost. They are the basis for countering the right-wing conservative status quo. We have to fight for our freedom.”
The fundraising campaign is intended to appeal to people who share left-wing values and have money. Who may have benefited from AZs themselves because their favorite band had their first concerts there, or because they used to drink cheap beer in the skate park in the center around the corner. People who earn well or have inherited a lot and want to make a difference politically, but have no time to become active themselves – “rich lefties, just,” says Carla Riese.
Damage to property as a permanent condition
In the old lace factory in Grimma, outdoor seating and an information board were destroyed in the last four weeks. Windows are constantly being smashed. Tobias Burdukat can well imagine accessing the Monom Foundation’s pot for renovations in the future.
However, three months after the launch of “Everything starts in the center” only around 10,000 euros were raised. That is far from enough to provide a sustainable funding pot. Since the campaign takes place largely on social media, many people are more likely to like rather than donate. Carla Riese doesn’t want to stop pointing out the need for civil society support for AZs: “Don’t always just talk about redistribution. Do it sometimes!”