In a rare attack on German voters, Heiko Maas urged people of all ages to stand up for vital rights, in the wake of violent protests in Chemnitz.
Right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the anti-Islam group PEGIDA organised the anti-immigration marches in the city of Chemnitz, after a German was stabbed to death in the city, allegedly by two migrants.
Up to 11,000 people took part in the protests, which took aim at Angela Merkel’s leadership, as well as counter protests in support of immigration.
Ms Maas told weekly Bild am Sonntag: “We have to get off the couch and open our mouths.
“Our generation was given freedom, rule of law and democracy as a present.
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“We didn’t have to fight for it.
“Now we’re taking it too much for granted.”
The anti-immigration protest was attended by some 8,000 people.
Leftist groups organised a counter-demonstration, attended by approximately 3,000 people.
Mr Maas had already invited his fellow countrymen to stand up against racist behaviours earlier this week, after police launched an investigation into two officers suspected to have performed the Nazi salute.
Taking his outrage to Twitter, he wrote on Saturday night: “When people are once again roaming our streets with the Hitler salute, our history mandates us to stand up for democracy.
“We must show our face against neo-Nazis and anti-Semites.
“The silent majority must finally get louder.”
Police said in a statement on Saturday the two policemen had been accused by an anonymous witness to have shouted anti-immigrant remarks and made the salute in a pub in the Bavarian city of Rosenheim on Thursday.
According to Germany’s laws, it is illegal to perform the Nazi salute or exhibit symbols celebrating the former deadly regime.
Justice Minister Katarina Barley told the Bild am Sonntag: “We will not allow the extreme right to infiltrate our society.”
The AfD, which entered the German Parliament for the first time in history after last year’s election, has branded Islam incompatible with the German constitution and Germany’s customs, and has often attacked Angela Merkel’s immigration policy.
The German Chancellor’s “open borders” policy has led Berlin to take in more than 1.6million people over the last four years.
And it almost brought Ms Merkel’s to her knees, as it created a rift with her interior minister, Horst Seehofer.
In late June, Mr Seehofer threatened to quit the cabinet if Ms Merkel didn’t agree on clamping down immigration.
The pair reached an agreement on July 2, when Mr Seehofer said: “After intensive discussions between the CDU and CSU we have reached an agreement on how we can in future prevent illegal immigration on the border between Germany and Austria.”