Thousands brave rain for Easter marches
Thousands took to the streets of Germany for traditional Easter marches against war over the weekend. On Saturday alone there were peaceful protests in more than 75 towns and cities.
Despite the wet weather and lure of chocolate eggs, people across the country grabbed placards and pounded Germany’s pavements protesting against war, violence and nuclear weapons.
Germany’s big cities saw lots of activity, as in Stuttgart around 1,000 people turned up for the “Hands away from war! Boycott nuclear war! Disarm!” march and in Berlin, more than a hundred braved snow showers to march from the Brandenburg Gate to Potsdamer Platz.
In Hamburg, over a hundred people marched down a busy shopping street in the city, while in Kiel protesters took to the streets under the motto, “because we want peace.”
In Magdeburg, 60 people showed up to march against the use of nearby fields as a military training zone. In Tübingen a group of over 80 protesters gathered, also to march against training soldiers in meadows nearby.
At the US airbase in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, around 50 people met at the gates to protest for “a world without war and military violence.”
Bavaria did not miss out on the action either, as in Munich as over 500 people hit the streets in the name of peace over the weekend.
Author Günter Grass even found some support among the Easter peace marchers on German streets at the weekend with banners in Bremerhaven reading “Günter Grass is right” and “Thank you Günter Grass”, while speeches in Stuttgart were made supporting him.
Officials said that 2012’s Easter marches were comparable to previous years and that the tradition kicked off as planned on Good Friday.
DPA/DAPD/The Local/jcw
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Despite the wet weather and lure of chocolate eggs, people across the country grabbed placards and pounded Germany’s pavements protesting against war, violence and nuclear weapons.
Germany’s big cities saw lots of activity, as in Stuttgart around 1,000 people turned up for the “Hands away from war! Boycott nuclear war! Disarm!” march and in Berlin, more than a hundred braved snow showers to march from the Brandenburg Gate to Potsdamer Platz.
In Hamburg, over a hundred people marched down a busy shopping street in the city, while in Kiel protesters took to the streets under the motto, “because we want peace.”
In Magdeburg, 60 people showed up to march against the use of nearby fields as a military training zone. In Tübingen a group of over 80 protesters gathered, also to march against training soldiers in meadows nearby.
At the US airbase in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, around 50 people met at the gates to protest for “a world without war and military violence.”
Bavaria did not miss out on the action either, as in Munich as over 500 people hit the streets in the name of peace over the weekend.
Author Günter Grass even found some support among the Easter peace marchers on German streets at the weekend with banners in Bremerhaven reading “Günter Grass is right” and “Thank you Günter Grass”, while speeches in Stuttgart were made supporting him.
Officials said that 2012’s Easter marches were comparable to previous years and that the tradition kicked off as planned on Good Friday.
DPA/DAPD/The Local/jcw
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