The 79-year-old is accused, among other things, of anti-Semitism and local politicians have tried to stop the concert. However, Waters appealed the decision and won in court.
Participants in the protest consider the concert to be particularly inappropriate due to the historical significance of the concert arena, the Festhalle.
During the protest, 600 names were read out. The names belong to Jews who during Kristallnacht 1939 were taken to the Festhalle and then sent on to the concentration camps of the Holocaust.
The storm surrounding Waters has been blowing for a long time, but reached new strength when, during a gig in Berlin, he donned a Nazi-like uniform and fired a pretend weapon from the stage.
However, Waters denies all accusations of anti-Semitism. The element of the concert is inspired by a scene from Pink Floyd’s film “The wall” from 1982. Waters believes that it is in fact a criticism of fascism and Nazism.
“My recent performance in Berlin has attracted attacks from those who, against their better judgment, want to smear and silence me because they are opposed to my political views and my moral principles,” Waters wrote on Twitter.
Waters has long been politically engaged, and in recent years he has directed a large part of his commitment to NATO and American foreign policy. Since Russia’s war on Ukraine, he has argued that it is the United States that has provoked the conflict and that Putin had no choice but to invade his neighbor. Waters is also a pro-Palestinian activist and has previously been accused of being anti-Semitic.